Weekending With Wolves
by WDGHK
Summary: With summer time coming to a close, Mr Loud takes the kids on a camping trip near a local lake. What was meant to be a relaxing weekend trip, however, soon turns into a dire predicament, once their father mysteriously goes missing and the kids wound up stranded in the middle of nowhere, stuck with an old enemy and left at the mercy a deadly beast that's wandering the woods.
1. Prologue

**This is a sequel to my earlier fic Broken Family , if you haven't read that one, several things in this won't make sense to you, so if you're curious I would advice you to read that one first...**

 **Prologue :**

 _" The last few weeks have definitely been rough on both me and my sisters. No kid deserved to watch their parents divorce and even more so with the soul chrushing knowledge that they were the cause of it. I in particular was enraged, upset, confused, I had reached my boiling point and was angry at the world for breaking my family apart and I lashed out at the girls, not seeing how bad they themselves felt about the whole thing._

 _I tried to avoid them as much as possible, I just wanted to be left alone and grieve about my life and what it had become, I lashed out and pushed away all of them when they tried to reach me and got into heated arguments with some of them. Things were pretty bad all around, and only worsened when we were faced with a pair of vicious bullies that I`d rather not name as I really wish to forget about the whole deal, but they certainly gave me some heavy bruises and they also...eh picked on the girls._

 _But strangely it was all that mysery that finally helped us come together and compromise as a family. I was embarrassed to talk about my bullying issues, but once I did Luan and Lucy showed me great sympathy and support, as did Lana, but the former also finally talked about the bullying and utter ostracizing that they themselves received at school, which frankly was far worse than anything I had ever experienced, those revelations helped us see how much we meant we needed each for both friendship and emotional support, I honestly never felt as connected to the girls as I did on that evening._

 _Likewise we finally gave Lynn and Lisa a piece of our minds, explained all the issues we had with them point blank, they obviously didn't take it well and threw a bit of a tantrum, but eventually they did some soul searching and they came back not only to apologize, but also promising to be better sisters._

 _Lynn was a tough nut, but after a talk with dad she came back hugging me while tearfully promising to be a better sister, but don't tell her I told you that, but after that I couldn't imagine how I ever doubted Lynn or any of you despite your flaws."_

Lincoln was lying on the top bunk with his phone pressed against his ear where he could hear his two oldest sisters sobbing, one trying to be more quiet about it than the other.

" _That is totz sweet, I..._ (sniff) _only wish I could have been there to nurse you back to health, and wear a cute nurse uniform while doing it!"_ Lincoln smiled a little upon hearing Leni`s voice brighten once she drifted of talking about fashion.

" _And if I was there I would have shown those twerps how it feels when you're like literally a human pretzel...Oh by the way how is Bobo Bear doing_?" her angry tone almost immediately switched into eager fast talk and Lincoln felt like gagging after being reminded of those cringe inducing pet names.

Nonetheless he told Lori what he knew about Bobby, which unfortunately for her was next to nothing, as neither he or the rest of the sisters here saw much of him following the divorce. Lori was disheartened, but she and Leni pressed on about the lives of their siblings in Royal Wood.

" _Very well actually, Lynn got grounded for misbehaving, but she got out early for good behavior, and once the bullies were taken care of we have been spending time doing some fun family activities together, but we also tried to give everyone the chance to have some alone time. Me? I`ve been up to the same old stuff as usual : video games, Ace Savy, ARGGH!, the usual, we did scramble up some money to help me go over for a weekend sleep over at Clyde`s. Luan in particular has been very generous._

 _Uh? Oh yeah Luan has found a sort of part time job, as a party clown and entertainer for little kids birthday parties, the payment isn't too bad. Sometimes she needs an assistant, which Lana usually takes up, given that she's now forbidden from finding pets or playing in the mud, so she needs something to keep herself busy, but then again she has also started to act as the peacekeeper among us, usually using her puppy dog eyes. Luan meanwhile is stuck with being the responsible adult now and she's not too bad at it. Eh no offence Lori."_

 _"None taken, but Luan acting responsible? That I gotta see to believe._ " Lori`s voice was traced with a mixture of amusement and intrigue.

" _As for the others, Lucy actually got a hair cut, she's finally showing those perky little eyes to the world, but outside of family stuff she mostly hangs out with me since it's still no piece of cake for her to integrate herself with her peers given her...complection_." Lincoln could imagine his big sisters somberly nodding to each other, he sighed and continued.

" _Lisa? Well lately she has become a bit of a shut-in with her studies, guess she`s anxious to get back to college and get her degree in six months, it took a lot of convincing to get her to join us on this weekend trip._ " Lincoln laughed remembering how they tried and failed repeatedly to get Lisa to get out of her "labortory" and join them.

" _And Lynn, well she's been doing what she does best, playing sports, winning various matches with her teams and so forth, though she has been a bit sour about not having a sports buddy to practice with. Either way tonight she had a big soccer match, and they won, no big surprise there and me and the others all came to watch each, I can't describe how happy she was that we were all there and her team plowed down their opponents, I`m not much of a soccer junkie, but that was an amazing game._

 _Anyway Lynn stayed to celebrate with her team, I brought Lisa,Lucy and Lana back home and tucked them in, Luan and dad went of to buy some basic groceries for our trip tomorrow and I'm just waiting for them and Lynn to return..."_

Lincoln got cut of as the deer opened revealing a less then chipper Lynn, still wearing her teams signature black uniform, "Hi Linc..." she grumbled before sitting down on Luan`s bunk and pouting, " And speaking of the devil here she is!" Lincoln exclaimed as he climbed and raised his phone towards Lynn "I got Lori and Leni on the line wanna talk to them? I have them on loudspeaker! " he asked politely.

Lynn avoided eye contact and mumbled "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood _..._ ", Lincoln knew something was off as he sat down next to the tomboy "Eh we have some important matters to discuss, call you later! By!" Lincoln quickly excused himself before he placed the phone down and looked at his sister "Somthing bothering you Lynn?" he asked with brotherly concern.

"It nothing." she half heartedly dismissed, but Lincoln knew better, he smiled sheepishly "Come on Lynn, you just won a big game and celebrated it, what could possibly have soured your big night?", Lynn looked at him with a downbeat expression "Its not..." she sighed "Its not that, it's just that on my way back I escorted one of my teammates, Emma, back home and on our why..."

...

Flashback

 _"Wow Lynn you were on fire on the field tonight!" Emma praised her friend as they walked towards her home, Lynn felt flattered but remembered not to feed her own ego too much._

 _"Well I did my part in the game, but...we succeeded together as a team, your raw skills definitely helped a lot, I`m quite grateful that you ended up on our team." Lynn saw Emma blush, ever to modest to praise herself._

 _"Oh all of you chicks showed some fancy foot work tonight..." a sudden voice made them stop and it was followed by a smarmy snicker, both girls saw a figure obscured by the shadow of a tree he was resting against, before he finally walked out and revealed himself._

 _"Ryan Taylor!" a frightened Emma gasped, while Lynn narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, "The one and only tutz." the dark haired boy said smugly as he bowed like a showman._

 _Lynn moved past her friend protectively and glared Taylor straight in the eye "What the hell do you want from me now you asshole!" Taylor smirked, amused by her quick outburst._

 _"I just wanted to congratulate you for your victory, not that I had much doubt about it while I cheered you on from the sidelines."..._

Lincoln certainly recalled seeing the notorious bully sitting among the audience, eyeing his big sister like a slab of meat and cheering and wolf whistling whenever she did anything, Lincoln had felt sick to his stomach and had imagined himself punching Taylor out, Lynn knew what he had seen and was now about to tell him the worst part...

 _Lynn felt uncomfortable as Taylor was checking out her wardrobe with a sleezy gleam in his eyes` "...also has anybody ever told ya how lovely you look in black, it really complements your eyes." , that comment made Lynn blush, but not from flattery, but rather do to from disgust she tried her best to suppress her desire to knock the scumbag`s lights out, but then Taylor went too far. Casually moving closer he placed his arm around her neck and looked at her with that cringe inducing look of smug superiority._

 _"Now then sweetcakes, what do you say about you and me going of to the nearest fast food joint to celebrate your victory, my treat of course!", Lynn barely restrained herself from mangling him, but then remembered how her frightened friend was carrying a smoothie with her from the party. Lynn then grew a devilish smile and pushed herself away from Taylor._

 _"Awwww I would love to, but unfortunately I already have plans with my family..." she said with mock sympathy while snatching away Emma`s smoothie "..but I can give you a consolation price.". Taylor cocked an eye brow at her and snickered._

 _"Family? That's it? Just ditch the freaks and meet me_... _ahhhh_ ", _suddenly he had the content of the smoothie poured all over his head, mainly his red crap, Lynn smiled with satisfaction "That`s what Luan would call sweet revenge, now let's get out of here Em!", she grabbed her friend`s hand and urgently led her away._

 _Once she turned her head she saw the soaked boy cleaning his cap and smirking at her "_ _Still playing hard to get, I geczy!"_ _he winked back before disappearing into the night, leaving Lynn infuriated._

 _..._

" _Taylor! That freaking idiot just can't leave her alone!_ " Lincoln tried to comfort his sister when all of a sudden a duet of ear piercing squeals frightened them both, before Lincoln realized that it was coming from his phone " _Damn it I forgot to end the call!_ " Lincoln lamented before grabbing it "Lori? Leni? Are you alright!" he asked with concern only to hear the teenagers giggle.

Lori spoke up " _Oh we're perfectly fine, but guys why didn't you tell us that Lynn has found a special someone?_ ", "What?" Lynn jolted with shock before hastily grabbing the phone from Lincoln, "Where the hell did you hear such bullcrap!?" the tomboy shouted angrily only to hear her teen sisters giggle.

" _Oh we heard everything you and Linky said, it's like totz adorable, our little sister is in love_."

" _Yeah we heard how that boy was complementing you and wanted to buy you lunch, you must have really memesmorized him with your good looks. Is he handsome?_ "

Lincoln backed away slightly as Lynn was ready to erupt "No Lori! He`s not! He`s hideous, his grotesque mug should be placed on a wanted poster, and I hate him, he`s the biggest jackass I ever meet! He`s been a pain in my ass ever since we moved here. Why I... "

" _Ohhh denial is the clincher sis, I went trough that same faze when I was 12, but don't worry you'll turn around eventually. He`s just heckling you to get your attention, young boys just do that and you should nab him while you have your chance._ "

" _Uh uh, when your first date comes, let me prepare you for it, I`ll style your hair, pick out the cutest dress, apply your make up_...", as Leni kept on blabbering about fashion accessories Lincoln grabbed his phone back and spoke " _Ok girls that's enough, we have lots of packing to do, call you latter._ ", with that he ended the call and looked back to Lynn who plopped down on the mattress and sighed, "Stupid older sisters..." she kept mumbling.

Lincoln petted his pouting sister on the back comfortably "That guy has some nerve, but don't let that creep get to you, that's what they want.", Lynn gave her brother a quick glance before sighing heavily.

"It not just that Linc, that scumbag just always manages to get under my skin...cuz...cuz he always makes me feel weak and helpless, I hate that..." she angrily crossed her arms "...people would treated me with respect, but this creep has the gal to treat me and talk to me like I'm his trophy, he can treat me like that because...he knows that he could take me down if we got into another fight, and I know and can`t stand that." Lincoln sighed trying to find the best possible way to comfort his sister.

"Well Lynn that's just life, there's always going to be people who are better then you at something and who have the means to push you around, I should know. The best you can do is try to ignore them." And then his face slightly brightened "And hey it's not like you didn't just give him some just desserts!" , at that Lynn actually managed to giggle and erected herself up.

"You`re right, I just wish that I did something less...girly to humiliate him, but still." both siblings shared a laugh especially Lincoln who tried to imagine Taylor being poured over with sludge.

"And further more, tomorrow we`ll be heading on our weekend trip to Clark Lake, where we can go swimming, exploring nature and just get away from all our city life troubles." an enthusiastic Lincoln told his sister.

"Your absolutely right Linc, this will be the perfect opportunity for us to explore the lake with my new vessel, I just hope you can keep up with me while paddling." Lincoln gulped a little, feeling unsure about that...

 **And so I have returned with a brand new LH fic, as you can guess this one will be less angsty and more light hearted with some high jinks, but keeping up with the tone of the first one it definitely won't be G rated story and will still have a focus on realism, which you will see as it goes along. Hope this will get people interested like my last story. Till next time...**

 **PS: Lori`s and Leni`s cameos were pure fanservice, don't expect the Loud siblings from Rita`s custody to play any role in this story ;)**


	2. Sweet Dreams Lucy

**And chapter one is finally up, the story has officially began :**

" _And the day finally came, both me and my sisters were super exited for this, after all the turmoil we had experienced recently we all needed a break, to just unwind and forget about our current troubles, including ghoul faced bullies who perved on my big sister...(shudders), but dad still had to work on Friday, so it was already late noon by the time we were on our way to Lake Clark, dad talked about how he used to visit that place when he was a kid during summer and he was sure we would love it there as well._

 _But the ride took a few hours and by the time we had arrived it was already sunset, but luckily for us we found a nice clearing that had been used by several previous campers and had several logs placed as seats encircling an extinguished camp fire, all we had to do now was to set up the tents, we had 3 tents and there was some disagreement about the sleeping arrangements, mainly because all my sisters were fighting over me as I was everyone's first choice for their tent mate, (sigh) if only I was this popular at school._

 _Dad was already pretty tired from work and the long drive, he was yawning heavily by the time we pulled the tents out of the van and the girls bickering gave him a head ache so he told them that I would be sharing a tent with him, as guys should in his opinion, while Lynn and Lana would be roughing it together and Luan, Lucy and Lisa would be sharing the last one. Everyone seemed fine enough with that, so all that was left was to set up camp. Me and Lynn were sent to collect firewood while the others worked together to set up the tents, though I knew that Luan would try to sneak of, as she was planning a little surprise to test Lynn`s bravery. This would certainly be fun._.."

"Will you pick up the pace slowpokes!" Lynn shouted teasingly, bringing Lincoln out of his thoughts. He rushed to catch up with her carrying a stack of wood, Lynn`s stack however was twice as tall and she looked at her brother with an amused expression.

"What?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that really all you can carry Linc? I mean..." Lincoln rolled his eyes.

" We`ve been over this already Lynn, you're the athlete and I'm just your average nerd, what's easy for you might as well be torture for me, and I mean it, I think my arms are seconds away from falling of."

Lynn shook her head with some embarrassment as her brother struggled to hold his stack up, "I know that, but still I think it wouldn't hurt if you did some exercise to beef up those twigs you call arms."

Lynn did have her point about her brother lounging around during most of his free time, but on the other hand she knew that her idea for exercise wouldn't be effective or even fun for her little brother. Lynn still missed the days when Lincoln was her practice buddy, but they had to make sacrifices and compromises as a family in order to ensure each others happiness and unfortunately for Lynn neither her favorite brother or her plethora of sisters were the athletic types or could endure her rough way of playing. Finding something both she and her siblings could enjoy was still a challenge for the 12 year old jock.

Right then they heard screeching as a flock of bats flew over them, which spooked Lincoln, causing him to yelp and drop his firewood. Lynn started to snicker.

"Way to be a scaredy cat bro." she teased him, Lincoln shot her a glare while picking up the fallen wood.

"I wasn't scared, okay? Those bats just surprised me." he replied defensively.

"Riiight... they "surprised" you." Lynn said sarcastically.

Lincoln mumbled in annoyance before restacking his firewood and followed after his sister, he looked around the pine forest they were passing trough, it was dusk and the dim light along with various animal noises made the place feel rather eerie.

" Okay maybe I was a little frightened, but you got to admit this place is kind of spooky." Lynn was about to retort when the two heard a high pitched howl, Lincoln became unnerved and hid behind his sister as they spotted the animal making the howl.

A small canine-like creature with pointy ears was standing by the tree line, it lowered it's head as it saw the kids and watched them, it's eyes reflecting the moon light. Lynn grew annoyed as she noticed her brothers fear, "Will you relax, it's just a coyote, they`re harmless." she told him before getting an idea.

"Watch this!" Lynn lowered her wood and started moving towards the coyote, ignoring her brothers protests she charged at the animal while shouting and flailing her arms up, the coyote yelped and ran of into the forest. Lynn laughed hard before returning to her brother, "See that, those things are complete cowards." she stated proudly before picking up her stack.

"Lynn! That was dangerous, what if that thing was rabid or something? Lincoln told her worryingly as he watched her go on towards their campsite.

"But it obviously wasn't, now will you quit being a worrywart and get going?", as she said that Lincoln noticed a figure moving trough the forest and smirked, "Eh sure Lynn, but... darn it...I just need to tie my shoelace!" he shouted back.

" _Oh this is going to be fun_." Lincoln snickered.

...

"Alright girls, we`re finished." the exhausted Lynn Sr yawned as he and the girls finished setting up the last tent.

"Yes I'm confident that our temporary, textile cladded shelters are structurally secure." Lisa observed in her regular monotonous tone.

" Cool, now we just need to bring our own stuff from the van, can't forget my floaties!" Lana exclaimed, making the others uncomfortable. Her father sighed, having to remind her of the crushing truth again.

"Lana sweetie, we`ve been over this already, you can't go swimming, not while you still have your cast on.", like most toddlers Lana often ignored what her parents told her if it didn't suit her wishes, but being bluntly reminded of this again still came as blow to her, Lynn turned away from her, not wanting to look at his little girls hurt expression.

"Bu...but that's not fair!" the little blonde cried "Everyone else will be swimming, why can't I? The doctor said that I can take this stupid thing of on Monday!" she angrily looked at the cast around her arm, like it was a leash holding her back from having fun, she then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Our patriarch is correct, we don't want to risk your well being by jeopardizing the healing process of your fractured ulna." Lisa told her, showing competion underneath her stoic demeanor. Lana pouted.

Lynn yawned once again, feeling increasingly more drowsy as he kneeled down in front of his tent "Don't worry sweetie (yawn)...I`m sure a kid with your (yawn)...eh imagination will find plenty of other fun stuff to do around here." he rubbed his eyes before crawling into the tent "Now if you'll excuse me girls I need to..."

Lana wasn't listening to her father as she was crossing her arms and pouting in anger. Lucy approached her "If it makes you feel any better, I`ll play with you on the beach Lana..." she said sympathetically "...besides I`m not very keen on swimming, especially in this lake with it's many accounts of giant, bloodthirsty pikes swallowing kids whole."

"You do realize those "accounts" are nothing but preposterous nonsense." Lisa replied flatly, making the goth groan.

"I was trying to make Lana feel better about not being allowed to enter the water." Lucy told her, like it was painfully obvious.

It was then that the girls heard snoring coming from the tent and realized that their father hadn't come out. They peeked their heads inside and saw him sleeping tightly, knowing that they should let their old man enjoy his much needed rest Lucy pulled a pillow underneath his head while Lisa and Lana pulled a blanket over him, however once they exited the tent they heard Lynn screaming from the forest.

"What was that?" a concerned Lana blurted out, only to see Lucy grow a light smirk.

"Looks like Luan`s prank succeeded." the little goth stated.

...

Following the sound of the screaming the three younger sisters made their way into the forest and found Lincoln crouching down behind a patch of bushes, with roars and screams coming from behind him. He saw them and made a shushing motion before signaling for them to come closer, as they joined their brother they saw a lot of wood thrown all over the forest floor and then they spotted Luan in a cheap bear suit "trying" to claw her way up a pine tree where Lynn was clinging on to, as she lunged up a petrified Lynn screamed harder thinking her life was in danger.

"Oh this just made my night." Lucy smiled and giggled, as did Lincoln.

"Its astounding how the average human mind can be deceived by a hastily sewed together pile of fabric into thinking that they`re seeing a real, carbon based ursine." Lisa studied the scene in her typical dour voice.

"Please go away! Leave me alone!" Lynn yelled frantically as she tried kicking at the "bear" who kept roaring and growling, the sound making the girls blood run cold, it then lunged and took a swipe at her and Lynn screamed as she jumped up higher and hug the trees trunk "HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

The others snickered though Lana looked at her big sister with concern "Eh guys don't you think this is a bit mean?" she asked innocently, making Lincoln look away sheepishly.

"Well no...I`mean it's all in good fun and..."

"HELP! HELP!" once they heard that Lynn was starting to sob Lincoln decided that enough was enough, "Okay girls we had our fun." he told his younger siblings as they revealed themselves to Lynn.

"Way to be a scaredy cat sis!" Lincoln shouted mockingly.

As she pried her eyes open Lynn was horrified to see her family approaching the "bear", "What are you doing you idiots!" she yelled hectically "Get out of here! Save yourself!" , Lincoln waved his hands up to calm her down.

"Calm down Lynn! We`re in no danger, it was just a prank. Look..." he pointed his flashlight at the "bear" revealing a clunky looking, cheap costume shop rent with a comically oversized head with big snaggleteeth and a dopey expression which had previously, all of which had been obscured by the dim light.

"Wut the..." Lynn was confused until she heard an all too familiar and obnoxious laughter coming from inside the bear, in a instant her face contorted from one of fear to one of boiling anger.

"It`s me Lynn! It was me all along! Hehehe I hope I gave you a berry time. Hehe get it?" Luan finally spoke from beneath the bear head, while roars were still playing on loop in her suit.

In an instant Lynn jumped down and tackled Luan to the ground, making her mask fall of and a small audio recorder playing bear sound tumbled out of it, Lincoln picked it up and shut it of before rushing towards his older sisters, afraid that Lynn might do something rash.

"Why the hell did you do this!" an enraged Lynn snapped at her older sister who put a hand over her mouth trying not to laugh.

"Okay just try to (chuckle) bare with me here (chuckle), I was trying to test your bravery and honestly (chuckle) I`m surprised you didn't fight me with your bare hands!" Luan`s chipper and goofy attitude only made the jock even more enraged. Without thinking she raised her fist up, but thankfully Lincoln intervened and grabbed it.

"Wow relax Lynn, it was just a prank, let's not loose our sense of humor." he tried to stop the situation from turning volatile, Lynn shot him a glare and wrestled her arm free.

"Oh don't worry, I haven't lost it, check out this trick!" she said deviously as she pinned Luan down and started producing a large drop of saliva slowly descending from her mouth, much to Luan`s horror.

"No,no, Lynn that's gross! No!" she cried and squirmed, Lincoln tried to get Lynn of her, but Lynn easily pushed him away. Luan creamed in disgust as the saliva hit her face and poured all over it. Chuckling with satisfaction Lynn finally got of her sister and dusted her hands.

"Now, now Luan don't loose your sense of humor..." Lynn said smugly "...assuming you ever had one." she intentionally added.

Wiping her face clean with the bear paw Luan shot her a glare "That wasn't funny! That was just mean and gross!", Lynn huffed before shifting her gaze to the others.

"And by the way, I was never scared, I was just worried about you guys." she stated haughtily.

"Is that why you were crying and screaming your head of before we even arrived?" Lucy said stoically, yet with a strong hint of teasing, which wasn't lost on Lynn, who blushed and clenched her fists as everyone quietly snickered at her.

"Pfff I`m out of here, I have better stuff to do than deal with Luan`s dumb, little games." Lynn stormed towards the campsite, trying to preserve some dignity.

"Ughhh doesn't anyone know how to take a joke anymore?" Luan complained as the others helped her get up and get out of the uncomfortable fur suit.

"Well this went about as well as I expected, Lynn still is a sore loser, no matter how hard she tries, getting the short end of the stick never goes well with her. Still it was a good laugh on our part I guess." Lincoln tried to lighten up the situation a bit, and the siblings shared a small laugh.

"To me seeing Lynn eat her words always brings a little joy in this gloomy world." Lucy admitted with a small smile.

As night had already fallen the siblings headed back to their camp, Lucy was at the end of the group and stopped as she spotted a flock of bats flying trough the sky, presumably hunting insects. The little goth smiled, as she has always felt a strong affinity with these creatures of the night, she then picked up the vocalizations of other nocturnal animals like hooting owls and chirping raccoons, however she then heard something else crashing trough the vegetation, it only lasted for a few seconds but Lucy turned her head towards the direction of the sound only to see the pitch black darkness of the forest.

Feeling curious she kept looking into the forest when she noticed something, all those animal noises she heard earlier went quiet, that realization made the goth feel a tad nervous, she was about to go when suddenly she saw it. Around 50 yards from her she noticed a pair of yellow eyes looking at her from the forest, Lucy froze as she locked her gaze with it, she couldn't make out what she was looking at, but an overwhelming sense of dread came over her, she wanted to run but was frozen with fear, her heart pounded as those eerie eyes kept starting at her.

"Lucy?" the goth yelped as she felt someone tap her shoulder, only to turn and see Lincoln, she instantly hugged him, much to his surprise. "What`s wrong Lucy? Why did you stay behind?" he asked with brotherly concern.

Lucy let go and pointed her fingers "I...I saw glowing eyes there in the forest." she said timidly, Lincoln looked into that direction but saw nothing.

"Don`t be afraid Lucy, most animals have eyes that glow in the dark, you probably just saw an owl or a fox, or maybe a coyote like the one me and Lynn saw earlier, nothing to be afraid off." he comforted her before leading her back to the camp site. Lincoln looked back towards the forest one more time, before shrugging it of.

 _" I won't lie, although I wouldn't show it in front of my sisters, Lucy`s story about seeing yellow, glowing eyes shook me up a bit, but I tried to keep a cool head about it, after all what I had just told her had to have been the case? Either way Lynn was still upset about the prank we had pulled on her and the teasing from the others made her decide to hit the hay early and she whispered to me that I should do the same, since we planned on going rafting tomorrow. Luan wanted us to roast marshmallows and Lucy was up for telling ghost stories, but Lisa went to bed early saying how she wanted to get up early in order to study the local flora and fauna, and the geology or something like that._

 _I tried to excuse myself too, but Lana caught wind that I had plans for tomorrow and asked me about it, and...well it's kind of hard to lie to her when she gives you her puppy dog eyes, so I blurted it out. She obviously was eager to join us, I of course was worried about the idea, given her injury, but I supposed it would have been of no harm if she joined us, as long as she stayed in the raft, but I told her that she needed to talk to Lynn about it first, after all it was her raft_."

"Pssss..psssss...hey Lynn... wake up..." Lynn was on the verge of drifting of into slumber when she heard her little sister calling and tugging at her shoulder. Lynn yawned and got up.

"What is it squirt? I`m trying to sleep..." she mumbled groggily before rubbing her eyes and seeing Lana, who was sporting a hopeful expression.

"Lynn..." she started excitably "I heard you and Lincoln wan to go rafting on the lake tomorrow..."

"Damn it, that Lincoln can`t keep a secret to save his life." Lynn knew what was coming next and dreaded it.

"Can I come with you? Please...pretty please?" Lana started begging.

Lynn really didn't have her heart set on playing babysitter tomorrow, especially with her little sister who couldn't even swim properly yet, she needed to get Lana of her back.

"Sorry Lana, but it's too dangerous, you know you can't go into the water and I can't risk you getting hurt. Outside of that me and Lincoln are just gonna be rafting around the lake, sight seeing, that stuff would probably bore you."

"No it won't and I promise I`ll behave and stay in the raft." Lana kept begging, the sight made Lynn feel guilty, but she reasoned that she earned her leisure time and wouldn't soften up on her stance.

She layed back down and turned her back on Lana "Sorry, but my words is final, can't let you get hurt, not with your busted arm. Now please, just go to sleep.", Lynn closed her eyes and pretended to already be a sleep, hoping that Lana would soon follow.

It mostly worked, as Lana didn't say another word, but she was once again crushed and angry as she layed down next to her older sister while looking at her cast " _Stupid cast, you ruin everything_." she thought bitterly, knowing that it alone might ruin her entire weekend trip. She had to get Lynn to let her join them somehow?

...

It was past midnight when Lucy was tossing in her sleep, she woke up in the dark tent next to Luan and Lisa who were quietly snoring, Lucy grabbed a bottle of water from her backpack and drank some of it to ease her nerve. She didn't know why her mind was at such unease...yes she knew, those damn eyes she saw in the forest still haunted her, she tried to convince herself not to worry about them " _Don't be a baby Lucy, Lincoln said those were probably an owl or something, nothing dangerous_." she kept telling herself that, but it wasn't enough.

Mustering up the courage she went outside and to her relief found nothing, just the empty lake illuminated under the full moon, the sight was actually quite pretty and it helped to put the 7 year old goth in a better mood, so she went back inside and tried to sleep. However just before she was about to drift of she heard something that gave her goosebumps, a faint footfall, like something was walking nearby, she only heard a few foot steps before it disappeared, Lucy was drowsy and thought that she might have been just dreaming, but then she heard something else, breathing.

It didn't come from her sisters and it too was somewhat faint, but the goth could make it out and it scared her deeply. She stood up, but didn't dare to look out of the tent flap, her heart started beating rapidly, but as soon as they appeared both the breathing and the foot fall faded away. It took some time, but Lucy finally eased her nerves and layed down, but sleep wouldn't come easy now, Lucy didn't know how long she had been laying there, awake and scared, but at some point she slowly had started to drift of into slumber, but she didn't get to sleep.

Suddenly she heard that breathing again, it was a lot more audible now, Lucy was drowsy, but she didn't have time to think much as she felt warm breath blowing towards her head, in a somewhat groggy state she slowly turned her head and she saw it.

Yellow eyes, a mouth full of sharp fangs grinning at her, Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs...

...

" _To call this a rude awakening would be an understatement, more like a heart stopping jolt out of the bed, but that night both me and Lynn were woken up by a terrified scream and rushed towards the other tent where we found Luan hugging and comforting a terrified Lucy who was sobbing in her arms, it was Lisa who filled us in on what had happened, apparently Lucy saw some kind of grinning monster, screamed and woke the other two up. Lisa went on talking about how Lucy was obviously having a nightmare, but she fell asleep mid sentence, she was still only 3 year olds after all, so I tucked her in. Me and Lynn then went to see Lucy_."

"It`s okay Lucy you just had a bad dream." Lincoln said gently but his gothic sister remained silent, her eyes were puffy and red and her lip trembled as she lay in her teen sisters arms looking traumatized.

Lynn had thought about making a snide remark about who was "screaming their head of" now, but given her sisters state she didn't have the heart to do it, "Look Luce if it will make you feel any better...I'll...eh look around to see if anything's there." Lucy lightly nodded and Lincoln gave Lynn his flash lights, Lynn hated the fact that she was loosing sleep over some nightmare one of her sisters had, but she couldn't back out of it now and she left to scout the area.

Lincoln took his turn hugging Lucy "There's nothing to be afraid about, you just had a nightmare..." he tried to reassure her, but she remained unconvinced.

"It was real, I know it's real..." she mumbled between the occasional sob "...it was breathing at me, grinning..." she started sobbing harder as she recalled that horrid image.

"Lucy don't be ridiculous there's no such thing as a grinning or laughing monster, exept maybe a laughing hyena, but we're not in Africa, are we?" Luan tried to lighten the situation, but to no avail. The two continued trying to comfort their little sister.

Lynn meanwhile had scoured all of the nearby patch of forest with her flashlight and found nothing, the woods were filled with the usual nocturnal noise like chirping crickets and croaking frogs, but nothing unusual. Lynn was growing frustrated over loosing precious sleep and was ready to leave when she heard a rustle, she flashed her light to reveal a pine marten which quickly scurried up a tree, Lynn rolled her eyes and was ready to leave.

"So did you see anything?" Lynn jumped a little and nearly dropped her flashlight as Lincoln approached her, but she regained her composer "Nothing, no monsters out here, grinning or not." she gladly confirmed.

"Now can we please go back to sleep?" the jock urged impatiently.

"Well I`m sure Lucy will be relieved to hear it." Lincoln said happily, as he and his sister went back. They were both relieved to know that they won't be the ones having to keep Lucy company until she falls asleep, which might not happen until dawn, poor Luan was in for a long night.

...

Morning had eventually arrived and Lincoln was woken up as someone tugged him on the shoulder, "Hey Linc..." he heard Lynn whispering "...get up, it's time.", the boy mumbled groggily under his breath and pried his eyes open "Alright (yawn)...I`m up." he finally spoke up.

"Good, I`ll be waiting outside." Lynn whispered before dropping Lincoln`s blue swim trunks on his face, as the boy got up to change he realized that one of his hands was placed in a bole of water and quickly noticed a big accident in his nether region. _"Luan!_ " the embarrassed Lincoln groan inwardly.

Being careful not to wake his tired father up, Lincoln left him a note regarding his and Lynn`s whereabouts before going out. Only half dressed Lincoln got a big shock and hugged himself for warmth as his bare skin felt the cool morning air, he looked around and saw that the sun was barely peaking over the pine forest on the horizon. He then spotted Lynn, dressed in her one piece red swimsuit, pushing her inflatable raft towards the water.

"Care to lend me a hand." she called for her brother who was still shaking.

"Isn`t it a bit early to go rafting." Lincoln said as his teeth chattered. Lynn laughed.

"Don`t be silly Linc, it's the best time, the morning air is good for you. But don't worry, I`ll be doing the paddling. ", Lincoln figured there was no point in arguing and helped her push the raft into the shallow water.

Lynn noticed how her brother seemed a bit glum and she knew it wasn't just the cold or lack of sleep. "Something bothering you Linc?" she suddenly asked him, making Lincoln sigh.

"Well...it`s Lana, I feel bad about not letting her come along, I mean yesterday before the Lucy thing she came to me trying to get me to wake up dad and get him to convince you to let her go rafting and I had to tell her that you were right, she seemed pretty upset."

" I know, but...well...actually I didn't just tell her that for her own safety." Lynn admited, much to Lincoln`s surprise. "And what was your order reason?" he wondered.

Lynn seemed a bit ashamed "Look I don't want to sound selfish or anything, but ever since the divorce it would be either you, me or Luan who would be stuck babysitting since there would be no one else around to do it. I just wanted some time away from that, plus I missed the times you and me hang out together."

Lincoln smiled understandingly "Yeah, I actually felt the same way, though I still feel bad for Lana, she can't do much here with her injured arm."

Lynn jumped into the raft and extended her hand for her brother " I know, but look at it this way, she probably won't even wake by the time we return and we`ll have the rest of the day plus all of tomorrow to spend time with her and the others.".

She had a good point, Lincoln cheered up and climbed up "You`re right. We have the entire weekend ahead of us, what could go wrong."...

However, unbeknownst to them Lana wasn't sleeping, she poked her head trough the tent and watched them sail away. She was hurt and upset and went to take a stroll around the lake before she found a stump and sat on it, angrily glaring and cursing at her stupid cast.

But then she heard some chattering and spotted a raccoon washing it's food in a small pond, getting curious the little blonde tried getting closer to the furry animal, but as soon as it spotted her it ran away. "Wait come back! I won't hurt you, I just wanna play!" Lana shouted and followed after the raccoon.

She saw it joining up with a few more of it's kin and they scurried further into the forest, Lana stopped and considered following them. She looked back at the camp site and then back at the forest and got an idea " _Well if I can't swim or go rafting I can go befriend and play with some animals. Maybe this trip will be fun after all!_ " she reasoned before following after the raccoons, heading deeper into the forest...

 **Well I had some trouble finding the motivation to write this down, as it was mostly set up, but luckily it's finally done and posted so I can get the story going, the "spooky" bits with Lucy were the most fun to write.**

 **Oh Lincoln, Lincoln why did you have to jinx yourself and your family with those dreaded four words ; "what could go wrong?", in fictionland that is pretty much wishing for humongous trouble. And already Lana has wandered into the forest while Lucy has found evidence that there's something scary and vicious out there in the woods, by the way the "it was just a nightmare/hallucination/your imagination" line is also a massive jinx asking for trouble. ;)**

 **Anyway till next time...**


	3. Goodbye Lana, Enter Taylor

**Little kids will do the most risky things without realizing what they had gotten themselves into, last time we`ve seen her Lana had wandered into the forest and no doubt this will cause her family a lot of grief, once they find out, let's just hope nothing bad happens to her...**

Underneath the dappled light of the forest, Lana made her way trough the forest floor, following after the raccoons. Each step made loud cracks as she walked over the ground which was covered in moss, pine needles and dry leaves. Walking trough it wasn't easy as she constantly had to climb over small, moss covered boulders or fallen tree trunks or push her way trough thick bushes and shrubs, she often looked up and marveled at the sight of the towering canopy of conifers and deciduous trees.

She lost track of the raccoons a while ago, but naively persisted onwards, not realizing how she was distancing herself from the campsite further and further. Hearing the chirping of birds, she looked up once again and saw some of them flying trough the canopy, eagerly following after them the little blonde then caught something in the corner of her eye, running over a log. She went after it and hid behind a bush where she saw a squirrel burying a nut bellow a large spruce tree.

" _Awwww it's so cute_." she gushed, all sparkly eyed and tried to pet it, but the moment she made one step foward, the squirrel flickered it's ears and turned it's head towards her, before Lana could even react the bushy tailed rodent scurried up the tree with lighting speed.

"Hey wait! Come back!" the girls cried as she ran to the bottom of the tree, by that time the squirrel was already high up and looked down at her with it's black eyes. Lana smiled at it.

"I won't hurt you, I just want to play, I really love anima..." before she could finish, the squirrel leaped into another tree, and then another, until it was out of sight. A disheartened Lana looked down.

" _Why do they keep running away? I`m not scary or anything? Am I?_ " she sadly lamented, before another rustle caught her attention. She saw one of the raccoons peek it's head from the grass and run past her. The 5 year old giggled.

"There you are you sneaky rascals, you won't get away from me this time!" she exclaimed playfully before running into the bushes after it. Once she pushed her way past all the branches she found herself in front of a narrow trail cutting trough the forest, the raccoons were on the other side and quickly vanished into the undergrowth.

" _So you wanna play hide and seek? Fine, bring it on!_ " she thought mischievously and followed them. However only a few minutes after she had left the area, someone else appeared, pushing trough the bushes the figure walked onto the trail with bare feet.

The trail was filled with deer tracks, clearly it wasn't man made, " _Look like I'm on the right track._ " Taylor smirked and followed it.

...

It was nearly a 3 mile walk from the bus station, but Taylor hardly minded it, he loved a good walk and if there was one thing that he had to give this dump credit for over his home, then it was the fact that he could actually walk in the morning without being burned by the scorching sun. He moved the large branch of a pine tree out of his way and found a small and comfy looking clearing at the shore of the lake.

The placid scenery of the large lake and surrounding forest was quite breath taking. Dropping his backpack the boy dipped his feet into the cool water and let out a sigh of water was ripe for swimming and he just needed to build his tent now, exept that he didn`t bring one. Such superfluous junk would only weigh him down, so he had only packed the essentials : an empty bottle, a pocket knife, an extendible fishing rod, his phone and the black swimming trunks, dark t-shirt and red cap that he was currently wearing. He had also packed a pair of beach slippers, which he wore on the bus so people wouldn't stare at him, but once he took on on foot, he did it with his bare feet, to him it simply felt more natural and Taylor intended on roughing it out here as much as possible.

After securing the rod, hooking the bait and leaving it to float in the water Taylor collected a series of leafy braches and dead wood and constructed a makeshift shelter, which he then filled with grass and moss to act as a mattress. After finishing it he plopped down into it and sighed pleasantly, he could collect the fire wood later.

" _This is the life, you're in for a relaxing stay Ryan, no annoying family or that idiot Lyle to ruin your day_." Speaking of the devil, he hadn't heard anything about his so called friend ever since the "incient", he was probably still laying low, but Taylor didn't care to think about it any further, he was far too busy enjoying himself. But as he was immersing himself in the ambiance of nature, something disrupted it. He heard some kind of strained scream, it was faint and evidently came from some distance away and it was followed up by a second, shorter one.

" _What the hell was that?_ " Taylor thought to himself as he got up and looked into the forest from where that noise had come from, he couldn't tell if it was a person or some animal given how brief and faint it was.

" _Maybe I should investigate that?_..." the dark haired boy thought, though he was keenly aware that whatever this was, it could be dangerous, but on the other hand he was also aware of something else, " _If I don't go find it, it will probably find me sooner or latter_.", seeing as it was a mute point, he groaned in annoyance and grabbed his knife, just in case he needed it, before heading of into the forest.

...

Not too far away, two of the Loud siblings were out on the lake paddling, or more precisely the more athletic Lynn was doing all the paddling, not that she minded it to any extent, while Lincoln was simply admiring the scenery. They planned on finding an ideal place for swimming, with clear water and a nearby place where they, well more so Lincoln could rest if he got exhausted, as they knew that climbing back into the raft from the water would be no easy task for the unfit boy.

Lincoln had his eyes out to spot any wildlife and surprisingly they ended up spotting quite a lot, a bald eagle soared over them before it swooped down and snatch a fish in the distance "Damn, that bird has some impressive reflexes and coordination." the tomboy stated with admiration.

They saw river otters plunge into the water from the shore, flocks of Canadian geese were floating on the surface and promptly flew off while hoonking in panic once the kids came too close, the siblings bursted into hardy laughter. Then however they spotted a far larger and more unexpected denizen of the woods.

"I don't believe it! It's a moose!" Lincoln exlaimed in surprise as saw the large deer far away, moving toward the lake, "It`s huge." Lincoln observed.

"Yeah and so is its big, flabby nose..." Lynn joked whilst she paddled "...not unlikely yours bro." she added teasingly.

"Well your nose isn't exactly petite either Lynn." her brother shot back confidently.

"Well consider yourself lucky that you inherited your big sis`s good look, with the youthful freckles and all, it's just a shame you don't share my level of strength and fitness as well." she bragged in response.

Lincoln rolled his eyes, Lynn would never stop harping at him for it because otherwise she wouldn't be Lynn. His attention shifted as he saw that the moose had entered the water and was swimming past them into the oposite direction. In spite of the friendly teasing Lynn couldn't deny that she very much valued every time she and Lincoln could spend together, as he was not only the only brother to the rough and tumble tomboy, but perhaps the only sibling she had without some annoying quirk and with them being closer in age to her, he could be an actual fun companion to be around instead of being a strenuous babysitting gig or someone with a preference for obnoxious jokes.

The knowledge that most of their previous "quality time" involved her passive-aggressively bullying and tormenting her brother, even if it was usually unintentional, was still a burden she had to carry, so actually seeing Lincoln enjoying himself with her made her happy.

Then she spotted it, sandwiched between the sloping cliffs there was a broad sandbank and the water around it was crystal clear, to the point that you could make out every pebble on the bottom. Lynn moved the the raft closer to it and tied it up to the nearest tree branch. She then stood up and untied her hair "See ya bellow!" she waved cheekily before taking a plunge head first, Lincoln looked down to see her resurface, unaware that Lynn had already dived under their raft and promptly bursted trough the surface to Lincoln`s back, spooking him into nearly falling off.

Lynn laughed before looking at her brother "Well what are you waiting for? An invitation? The waters great!", Lincoln dipped his hand into the water and felt a mild shiver.

"I don't know, I think it's a bit too cold." he told her meekly, causing Lynn to roll her eyes.

"Oh look another eagle!" she suddenly pointed up.

"Where?" Lincoln swiftly turned his head only to feel his left arm being grabbed and he was promptly pulled into the water. He resurfaced and spat out some water while hearing his sister laugh. Lincoln shot her an annoyed glare.

"Sorry bro, but you really needed some strong persuasion." Lynn chuckled before getting splashed in the face.

"And you need to cool of you hot head." Lincoln shot back playfully, before the two engaged in a splash battle.

...

Back at the familys campsite Luan was the first of the remaining sisters to get up. Dressing up in her yellow one piece swimsuit, she let her hair loose and took a plunge into the cool early morning water, diving down numerous times and swimming with surprising grace.

'' _Now that's what I call a refreshing morning_.'' she thought as her head broke surface, but as she shook her long brown hair out of her line of sight, she spotted Lucy sitting atop a towel near the tents, dressed in her regular clothing and curling up in an obviously uneasy mood. Luan hadn't expected her to be up so early, but she understood why. Lucy still needed comforting, so the teen comedian swam back to the sandy shore, as she walked out of the water she squeezed the water from her and subsequently took a seat next to her sister on the soft sand, trying her best to smile.

Luan felt that ever since the divorce, she and Lucy had gotten closer, weird since superficially they would come of as polar oposites, and yet they were essentially like two sides of the same coin, like comedy and tragedy, the oposite extremes to one another, the cheerful, colorful clown and the gloomy, black cladded goth, both with extremely eccentric interests befitting their archetypes.

But the real similarities came to light in regards to their social lifes, as both were complete outcasts among their peers, mocked and shunned for their odd looks and interests, so Luan, more than any other sibling, knew exactly the kind of pain her little gothic sister was going through and felt like she could offer her the best guidance when dealing with such issues.

'Hey Lucy, did you ...eh sleep well?" Luan said in a friendly tone, but inwardly regretted starting of with such a stupid question.

"No." the goth answered quietly and blatantly, as evident by her tired eyes.

"I see..." Luan replied, unsure on how to proceed, after a moment of silence as the teen viewed the lake and surrounding forest, she started "Look...Lucy..."...

"Please spare it..." Lucy started with tranquil irritation "...Lincoln gave me that same speech already, but I know what I saw and I know it's dangerous, but all of you are just going to ignore me as usual." the last part sounded especially bitter, as it was referring to their past neglect of her.

Luan knew to approach this cautiously, "Lucy it's not like that, we all heard you out..." she told her softly and with understanding "...but we can't just fly into a blind panic and cry monster for little reason, the goth gave her a subtle glare, Luan sighed.

"I remember how you kept telling me last nigh about how we should get out of here and all that, but don't you think that you might be just a tad overacting.", Lucy kept her composure and looked down.

"How am I overacting, when I saw what I saw..." the goth stated quietly, with a hint of fear in her voice.

"I know that you saw what you saw and you maybe young, but you`re pretty clever for your age, so you should recall those things rationally and think about why you should ever be afraid of them?" Luan tried to reason, Lucy tried to talk, but Luan continued.

"Now first things first, those eyes. Like Lincoln said, many forest critters have eyes that glow in the dark, heck I have seen plenty of pet cats and dogs with such eyes and yes it does look freaky and unsettling when you see something like that, but it doesn't signal any danger. All you saw sis were eyes, did you even see what kind of animal it was?" Lucy shook her head, much to the comedians delight.

"See? So how do you know that it wasn't an owl or a raccoon, especially since dad told us how he had visited this place since he was kid, as did other people and none of them saw any large animals around here, other than moose and deer and last time I checked they were strict vegetarians." Lucy had to admit that her sister had a good point, now that her initial shock had worn of, she did start to see that this was the most rational explanation.

"In fact I can relate to your fears..." Luan suddenly started "...you see when I was like 6 years old, I thought that a monster was haunting mine and Luna`s bedroom." she reminiscent.

"I kept hearing footsteps that I thought were coming from my bedroom when I went to sleep and I thought it was some kind of invisible monster. I cried about it, but mom and dad dismissed it as just my imagination, but I kept pestering them about it, until dad finally had enough and went to investigate it. And wouldn't you know it..." Luan giggled a bit at this part..."...those footsteps were made by an opossum which had been hidding in the attic, then it was dads turn to freak out over our newly discovered vermin problem."

Luan saw her little sister giggle a bit at that "mystery twist", "See Lucy sometimes simply knowing that something is there, but not knowing what it is can give you a bigger fright than it is worth it." she hoped that this finally settled the goths worries, but then Lucy frowned again.

"But what about the monster I did see up close! I heard it breath and walking and then I saw it's dark face, it's big fangs and yellow eyes..." Lucy started shuddering again and Luan placed a comforting arm around her. Lucy had explained that late night account well and teen tried to relieve her of those fears as well.

"I know and I believe you, but remember what I just told you, those footsteps and breathing? It was probably a raccoon or fox sniffing trough our camp trying to find food. And that scary face latter on? You said you were drifting of to when you saw it, so it was probably a dream." Lucy grew annoyed again.

"It wasn't a nightmare and it was real..." frustration crept trough her monotonous voice, before she started to stutter with fright "...it`s...a monster...and it`s out there...", not knowing what else to do to convince the goth otherwise, Luan resorted to a more grim, but potentially helpfull rationalization.

"But...but Lucy, I thought you would know this better than anyone..." she said with fake surprise, earning the goths attention "...wouldn`t a monster, a real one that is, take away and eat a helpless kid like one of us if it got the chance?"

"That is true, a lot of monster lore tells about creatures of the nigh who prowl in the darkness, seeking to feed on the flesh of people who have comitted sinful acts, or just to drive nuisances out of their cryptic home." the little goth`s morbid answer creeped Luan out a bit, but she realized that Lucy was finally seeing it, in her own way.

"Yeah, yeah and you haven't done any bad deeds and if it was trying to scare us away, it certainly did a poor job by just running away after hearing a 7 year old scream at it, kind of a whimpy monster, huh? the teen asked rhetorically.

"I didn't think of it that way..." Lucy admitted it, looking somewhat sheepish "...maybe it was just a dream, or a very cowardly monster."

"Exactly, now how about you forget about that dumb, little dream and enjoy yourself, I`ve got a beach ball that I brought with me, would you like to play catch with me?" Luan asked eagerly, to which Lucy smiled and nodded.

...

"Ah now wasn't this fun Linc? See how you just need to loosen up a bit to have some real fun?" Lynn told her brother as they were resting while sitting alongside each other on the soft sandbank, after they had spent a while splashing each other, diving down to collect pretty looking pebbles from the bottom or to just pull each other down when the other least expected it and Lynn even convinced him to race her towards a small island of rock within the lake, which she obviously won with ease do to her being a stronger swimmer, despite claiming that she would go easy on him. While she had lots of fun, it did make the tomboy wish that she could have raced against a more worthy opponent, since her bro was obviously outmatched by several leagues.

"Excuse me for a moment Lynn, but I gotta go." the boy said as he suddenly starred walking towards the forest.

"Go where?" she asked casually. Lincoln felt a bit awkward to answer.

"Ehh...to go pee." he replied uncomfortably.

"Oh that...why didn't you just do it in the water, I did it twice already." she said nonchalantly, not paying much mind to Lincoln`s immediate revolted reaction.

"Lynn! That's disgusting, I was right next to you for Pete`s sake!"

"Don`t be such a sissy Linc, people do this all the time while swimming, a little piss won't do you any harm." she told him teasingly, obviously having fun giving him discomfort with her bodily fluids, like with her belches and her love of flatulence. Groaning Lincoln moved onwards, not wanting to openly discuss such topics any further, unless he could get his sister to grow out those unhygienic and juvenile pleasures.

Lincoln didn't waste any time relieving himself as fast as possible, while constantly looking around anxiously, even though by all logic there was a pretty low chance of any onlookers being here. But as he made his way back towards Lynn he got an uneasy sensation, like he was being watched. Lincoln took a quick look around and saw nothing, he tried to move on, but was startled by a sudden rustle in the forest.

He quickly turned around, but once again saw no sign of anything, as he looked for Lynn and their raft, he realized that he had wandered of further than he should have. He still saw the blue lake behind the cluster of maple trees and moved in that direction, but as he maneuvered his way trough, he caught something in the corner of his eye and quickly turned to catch a fleeting glimpse of something disappearing behind a thick pine tree.

Now growing nervous Lincoln made a dash to reach Lynn faster only to trip on a root and hit the ground. Lincoln hissed as he touched his scraped knee, he quickly got up and dusted himself of, then however he heard a bush rustle and it was right behind him. Feeling shivers, the white haired boy gulped and fearfully turned his head around.

He was meet with the shadowy figure of a person, taller than him, holding a knife in one hand and waving his fingers with the other. " _Hii._.." the figure said ominously causing Lincoln to shriek like a girl and tumble backwards. Getting his foot caught in the same root as before he tripped and bumped his head against a rock and went unconscious.

Taylor winced " _That wasn't supposed to happen..."_ he thought nervously before moving in closer to the limp Lincoln. Taylor grabbed the younger boys arm by it's wrist and to his relief found a regular pulse.

" _This pipsqueak never ceases to surprise me, first I hear some weird hollering, then I find him in the wood, I just try to scare him and he acts like a klutz and K.O-s himself. Now what do I do..._

_Wait? If he's here then that must mean..._ "

"YOU!" Taylor jolted in surprise and turned his head.

"Lynn!" Taylor yelped as he was faced with the brunette who had a shocked expression, before it turned into one of teeth grinding fury. Taylor quickly glanced back at Lincoln, then at the knife in his hand and then back at the enraged girl.

"This isn't what it looks like!" he said hastily as he dropped his knife, "I can explai..."

With a furious cry Lynn tackled Taylor to the ground and clamped her hands around his throat "What did you do to him!" she yelled with unhinged rage, Taylor gasped.

"Will you get your hands of me woman, I need my air..." he managed to quip inspite of the volatile struggle, Lynn softened her grip, while still pinning him down under her knees, "I said what did you do to him!" she growled bitterly.

"Relax dollface, I just tried to scare him, but the klutz bumped his nuggin on that rock." he explained in a smarmy manner. Lynn tightened her grip and slammed his head against the ground.

"Liar! Why are you here! You were following me you sick shithead, weren't you!" Taylor chuckled at her accusation.

"Don`t flatter yourself Lindsey. I was just camping out here and I simply stumbled across you guys, it appears fate really wants you and me to meet again..." he said flirtatiously before suddenly kicking Lynn of him.

As she hit the ground, he erected himself in a crouching stance "You know we really need to stop meeting like this." he quipped before lunging at Lynn and pinning her face down against the leaf covered ground. Taylor lowered his head until he was at ear level.

"And as for the knife, you see I was inspecting some strange noises and took my handy little pocket knife, in case I had to fight some blood hungry beast or protect a hapless damsel like you..." he added the last bit to annoy her, only to receive an elbow hit to the windpipe from Lynn.

Taylor gasped and choked as he got up and grasped his neck, Lynn rose up and shot him a brief death glare before running over to Lincoln.

"(gasp)...will you stop aiming for the throat...( exhale)...do you want to kill me!" Taylor complained, only to be completely ignored by Lynn who was looking over Lincoln, who she could feel breathing, but he remained unconscious. Lynn tried to shake him awake.

"Lincoln! Please wake up! Say something!" she told him with extreme worry, but got no response.

"Relax your pretty little head..." Taylor spoke up as he rubbed his throat "... worst case scenario : he`ll just have a nasty bump on his melon.", Lynn felt her blood boil and shot him a death glare as he leaned down to take his pocket knife and place it in his pocket.

Before he knew it, Taylor was grabbed by his arm and forcefully hoisted up to come face to face with a really pissed of Lynn, "You did this to him!" the livid tomboy growled before pointing at her unconscious brother.

"Hey I was just joking, it ain't my fault that he's so clumsy..." Taylor tried to defend himself only to be pulled closer to Lynn`s enraged face.

"You did this to him and you`re going to help him now, or else..." she threatened, but only to see a smile and a smarmy glee in Taylor`s eyes.

"Why sure, anything for you babe!" he agreed...

...

Lynn couldn't believe it. Just how damn rotten did her freaking luck, or her familys in general, have to be for this to happen. Just moments ago she and Lincoln were playing and having fun and now he was unconscious, with a swollen bump already developing on the back of his head, and she was carrying him to nurse his injury. And worse yet, it was all because of that sleezy scumbag of a bully Taylor, just that name alone made her sick to her stomach. Out of all the damn lakes in Michigan he could have chosen to go camping to, he had to go here and cross paths with her. Although Lucy was the superstitious one of the Loud sisters, Lynn was seriously starting to wonder if there was some kind of curse placed on her family, given all the misfortune they`ve gone trough.

"How much further till we reach your damn camp!" she yelled impatiently at the boy who she was following, who shot her a subtle smirk.

"Not far tutz, you just follow me so you don't get yourself lost." his tone was dripping with smarm and arrogance, Lynn knew he wanted to see her loose control and she wouldn't give him that satisfaction, but if he called her tutz or sweetheart or dollface or babe or any of that stupid, wannabe bad boy slang one more time, she swore she would rip his vocal cords out, if it meant keeping him quiet.

"We`re here." he said in a sing-song voice, but all Lynn saw was a buch of branches and foliage blocking their paths.

"I don't see anything you moron!" she snapped at him, the black haired boy rolled his eyes haughtily.

"Such pretty eyes and yet so little sight." he sneered before moving the large branch of a pine tree out of his way, reveling a small clearing at the shore of the lake. Lynn`s jaw dropped in disbelief. There was nothing there but a backpack, a fishing rod and some tipi made from tree branches.

"Are you shiting me? Is this some kind of jokes?" she growled hostility at him, with Taylor seeming amused by it, "Where`s your real camp!: she snapped, now utterly sapped out of patience.

Taylor shrugged "This is my camp, if you were expecting a penthouse in a 5 star hotel, sorry to disappoint you, but I thought you were the type who enjoys roughing it, just like me."

"And just where the hell are your parents?" Lynn quickly asked the most obvious question.

"They`re still at work..." Taylor said casually "...they trusted me that I was responsible enough to go out on my own, bet Daddy Loud doesn't give you such privileges, huh?

After getting no answer, just a dumbstruck and clearly envious look, Taylor smirked and moved to the fishing rod to check if he has caught anything for dinner, Lynn kept glaring with Lincoln`s weight slowly tiring out her arms. Reluctantly she placed Lincoln on the bed of moss and grass in the makeshift shelter, she let out sad sigh, hoping her brother would wake up soon. Taylor kept talking as he adjusted the rod.

"You see I`m an outdoorsman, I`m in no need of any fancy appliances or canned food or other crap like that, the more I rely on nature, the more fun I`m having. I even walked barefoot all the way to here." Lynn sneered at him.

"And you called my family freaks? And it seems you have an unhealthy obsession with nature, but then again you would fit right in if you joined up with a pack of wolves." she snarked, thinking she would hit a nerve, she didn't. Taylor simply chuckled and faced her.

"Says the girl who's fanatically obsessed with sport." he said plainly.

"I`m NOT obsessed with sports!" she screamed aloud.

"Sure you're not, I guess jerseys, gym shorts and soccer shoes and socks are just the trendiest casual wear for girls in Royal Woods." his voice was laced with thick sarcasm, his smirk grew as he saw Lynn barely containing her anger.

He let out some tranquil laughter before sitting besides the rod "But enough with the banter, why don't you leave the pipsqueak to rest and sit by me, you can observe my exeptional fishing skills." he tapped the spot next to him in an inviting manner. Lynn ignored his gesture and sat down next to her brother.

"No thanks!" she blurted with utter insincerity "I`ll be watching over my brother." she shifted her gaze towards Lincoln and she gently stroked his face.

"Alright we don't have to fish..." Taylor started as he took of his t-shirt and cap "we can go swimming together, how about a race towards that hunk of rock?" he tried to appeal to the athletes competitive nature.

"No." she answered flatly without even caring to look at was slowly getting frustrated.

"Oh come on Lynn, I`ve been eager to hang out with you for weeks and now we have a perfect opportunity for that ...and by the way..." his tone started turning flirtatious "...did I mention how pretty you look with your hair down, it really does things for you...not that the crimson swimsuit hurts either.".

Lynn`s face turned crimson itself from her heavy blush and once again it was one of disgust.

"Well you just reminded me why I don't want to hang out with you..." she hissed angrily without turning her head so he couldn`t see her blushing "... _pervert_." she muttered under her breath.

Finally giving up, Taylor turned his back on her " _Pffffff girls, you give them compliments and they still get all pissed of at you, they really are just a bunch of hysterical mood swingers. Better wait till she swings into a better mood..."_

...

"Okay I give up! You can come out! You won!" Lana shouted desperately for the fifth time, trying to find the raccoons, after still seeing no sign of them Lana got mad and stomped her foot in aggravation " _Those bushy tailed jerks ditched me, they were probably messing with me the whole time!_ " she thought.

"Fine who needs ya!" she shouted angrily and went on exploring the forest. She climbed up some moss covered boulders until she was faced with the roots of a log leaning against the rocks. Using the roots to pull herself up Lana laughed excitably as she slideed down the log and landed on the soft grass.

"What a ride! I should try it again!" the giddy little tomboy thought, and so she did, around five more times. After she landed in the grass for the fifth time she saw something small and fluffy leaping around in the tall grass, trying to catch a dragonfly.

" _Oh my gosh it's a kitten!_ " Lana couldn't believe she found a kitten in the woods, nonetheless she grew a big smile and quietly made her way to get a closer look. This was one strange looking kitten the toddler though, she never saw a cat with a short, stumped tail and big, tuffed ears, yet just seeing it's big green eyes and spotted, fluffy coat made Lana`s heart melt.

"Hey there little guy." she quietly whispered, the kitten didn't show any fear towards her, much to her relief, but once she petted it on the back it crouched down and folded it's ears. Paying no mind to that, Lana sat down, picked it up around it's waist with her good arm and hugged it against her chest, like she used to do with Cliff. The kitten started squirming intensely, but Lana didn't pick up on the reason why, she simply admired it's bright, green eyes.

"Aww you`re so cute, what's your name? Oh silly me, animals can't talk, okay how about Tuffy? You know cuz you have those tuffs on your ears. What do you think?" she lowered her face at the struggling kitten who suddenly clawed her across the nose. Lana yelped and clenched her nose, but then let out a nervous laugh.

"You`re a feisty fellow, aren't you?" she reasoned "Hmmmmm maybe I can get dad to let me take you home, I know he said that we couldn't keep any pets, but I`m sure once he sees how adorable you are he`ll probably change his mind."

Her one sided conversation came to a stop when Lana heard a cat-like screech behind her back, she turned around and saw a bobcat prowling in front of her, she bared her teeth, her hair was standing tall on her back and her long ears were folded against her head, Lana felt scared by the enraged looking feline and started crawling back in fear, letting go of the kitten which ran back to its mother.

As Lana tried to get up, the bobcat let out a frightening hiss and lunged at her, before she knew it Lana screamed as she was clawed across her cheek and fell down. Once she rose up, the stunned girl saw the rusty colored lynx crouching in front of her, looking ready to attack again, with her eyes tearing up Lana screamed and ran away as fast as she could. She hid and then poked her head from behind a tree. The bobcat didn't go after her, but still looked at her menacingly, but then all of a sudden, her demeanor changed. She flickered her ears and lifted her head to sniff the air, looking spooked she picked up her kitten by the collar of it's neck and ran off.

Lana shed a tear " _Why did she attack me? I was only cuddling with her baby_.", the 5 year old felt dejected, all these animals were running away from her and now they were attacking her? Why are they so mean to her? Lana sniffed as another tear escaped her eyes, she wandered aimlessly for a bit, until the sound of flowing water caught her ears. She followed it and found a river, feeling thirsty she kneeled down to take a few sips, in the process seeing her reflection which included the rather noticeable scratch marks on her cheek.

She sighed before finding a spotted salamander scampering across the muddy shore, Lana instantly cheered up, amphibians were her favorites. She tried to reach it, but the salamander instantly made a dash towards the water, Lana tried to catch it but slipped and fell while the amphibian plunged in the water. Lana cried in frustration.

"Fine! If none of you want to be around me I`ll just go home!" she yelled sadly and tried to storm of, only to realize something.

" _Wait?_ " she started looking around the dense forest " _Which way is back to the campsite?_ "...

 **It seems poor Lana is slowly learning that nature isn't like a Disney flick, surely a hard thing for someone like her to get to terms with, especially now that she has allowed herself to be lost in it's maze. And everybodys favorite bully has returned, as snarky and mean as always and still with his eye out for Lynn. When those two meat things turn hostile pretty quickly. And the kids still don't know that there's** _ **something**_ **out there, watching them.**

 **As usual constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as it helps an author not to loose perspective, as long as it is constructive and not dumb hate comments. Till next time...**


	4. Stuck With Your Nemesis

**While worrying about her brother, Lynn will have to deal with Taylor and sooner or latter she will have enough of him and give the bully a piece of her mind. Meanwhile Lana is still lost in the forest and her family will soon find out about it, and something else...**

The surrounding serenity helped Lynn to remain calm, besides some chirping birds, her surroundings remained peaceful and placid, allowing her to keep an eye on her brother without any pesky distractions. But that wouldn't last for long.

As she watched Lincoln`s chest slowly rise up and down, she picked up the sound of footsteps walking over the grass, getting closer to her. Instinctively a frown crept into her face.

"Go away." she bitterly barked without turning her head. Unfazed by her order, Taylor stood behind her with a scrutinizing look while holding his chin.

"If I could make a bold suggestion, perhaps a quick splash of water to the face would bring the sleeping princess out of dream land?" he said nonchalantly, causing Lynn to grow increasingly more irritated. She finally looked at him with a less than friendly expression.

"Is this some damn joke to you?" Lynn snapped, "In case you've forgotten, my little brother is laying here with a possible concussion! And it's all your freaking fault!"

Taylor was briefly hesitant to talk before he slowly narrowed his eyes "I`m trying to help you here tutz, believe me I take no pleasure about you staying here just because of him..."

"Me! This isn't about me! It's about him! Do you even feel a tinge of guilt over what you have done?" Lynn growled accusingly.

"I told you, it was just an accident, I didn't want this to happen..." Taylor replied calmly, as much as he hated to admit it, he did feel responsible for this and this time he didn't have the luxury of letting Lyle take the blame (even if it was justified), but he was too stubborn and prideful to admit it.

Lynn spat in disgust " Yeah right, let's say I believed ya for a second, and how do you justify the things you've done to him the last few times you met? Those clearly weren't "accidents" and you were pretty damn gleeful about it.", Taylor grew agitated and sat down next to her.

"Would you quit bringing that up? That's ancient history and I was under Lyle`s bad influence at the time..." Lynn`s groan cut him of.

"You honestly expect me to buy that?" she asked exasperatedly, "Can you just stop trying? It's getting pathetic.", she paused and starred at him with a hateful glare, "I know the real you and I know how you have no scruples, you're an ass, you're a miserable bully and you take joy in picking on others. And here's a big shocker, even if you had never bullied Lincoln, I still wouldn't have wanted anything to do with you _because_ you're a miserable ass and bully.", to her surprise Taylor made a small chuckle.

"Why you're pretending like that makes me _worse_ than everyone else, well news flash! It doesn't.", Lynn let a look of puzzlement crack under her glare.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, Taylor grew a small smirk.

" Don't play ignorant sweetheart, those things you said, those things that supposedly make me a bad person..." his face dropped to one of apathy "...it`s the exact same crap that every other kid in the world does on a regular basis. We don't live in a squeaky clean utopia, the world is a jungle where might makes right and every kid only looks out for their own self interest, most of the time your so called friends only values you as long as you're convenient to them, if you're not they'll abandon you without a second thought and as long as someone`s in a position of power, be it wealth or popularity or simply the brawn to push others around they'll gladly be the bully and the cold harsh truth is that no one is even remotely above that.

You see I`m not the bad guy, I`m just someone who plays by the rules.", Lynn tried to make a retort, but couldn't, what Taylor said quickly reminded her about what her siblings regularly went trough among their peers, Lincoln and even more so Lucy and Luan, they aren't popular and the treatment they get reflects that, she would have said how her peers treated her with respect trough most of her life, but she then remembered how as an athlete and all around tough girl she had both popularity and pure brawn on her side from basically the start, and then there was the fact that she couldn't, on good conscience, tell Taylor that she was above bullying, because knew she wasn't.

Lynn screamed inwardly " _Why is this idiot making sense, I can't lose an argument to that asshole of all people, he probably just made that bullshit up on the spot to defend himself, nothing more._..", before Taylor got a chance to comment on her prolonged silence, she said the best response she could muster.

"Well I can`t speak about other kids..." her tone was rather reserved and somber, if not sounding defeated "...but my siblings aren't like that, they have standards." her voice grew more confident, but Taylor could detect uncertainty bellow it, he thought about doing the obvious and tell her that she's wrong, but he noted something else about her response.

"Really?..." he started in an obviously unconvinced tone, before cocking his eyebrow "...and what about you?" he intrigued, aware that this might strike a nerve with her, but he had no idea how much he was right. That question, he had her trapped, Lynn started to panic and sweet nervously, she couldn't tell him how she had treated her siblings in the past, he would never let her live it down. She wanted to lie, to say that she never dropped to the same low he did, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, it would be a lie. With the stress and anxiety boiling up inside of her, Lynn`s impulsive nature kicked in.

"Well?" Taylor smugly asked before suddenly and violently being pushed down.

"You`re unbearable!" Lynn snapped at him, the boy rose up with a surprised expression before smiling.

"What? It was a simple question?" he asked with faux innocence, Lynn`s reaction was immediate. Growling and gritting her teeth, the girl rose up to her feet, Taylor instantly got her body language and stood up himself, " _Oh the doll wants to play fight...again._ " he thought with a growing feeling of excitement.

Lynn lunged at him, but Taylor dodged and let her fall into the muddy bank of the lake, as she tried to get up she heard the black haired boy`s mocking voice "What's the matter? Did I ask something you didn't want me to know?". That did it.

With lighting speed Lynn lunged at Taylor, got a choke hold on him and used her weight to pull him down. She grabbed hold of the back of his head and started pushing it into the mud. Taylor managed to plant his hands into the muddy ground and pushed himself up, throwing her of him, but the moment he tried to get up, he slipped down. He saw Lynn going at him and quickly dug his hand into the mud and pelted Lynn in the face.

"I got a nice aim, wouldn't you agree?" he quipped.

Wiping of the dirt, Lynn quickly formed a huge mud ball with her hands and hit Taylor right in the face, including his eyes. As he yelped, she lunged at him again and before they knew it, they both plunged into the water.

As Lynn surfaced, she was instantly splashed in the face, "Let me cool you off!" Taylor laughed as he swam back to shore. As soon as he stood up in the ankle deep water, he was tackled by Lynn and hit the soft sand-mud floor, Lynn was ontop of him trying to pinn him dow.

Taylor quickly turned the table and rolled to the side and quickly had Lynn pinned, "You know Lynn? I think you got some anger issues..." he quipped smarmilly as his face loomed above hers.

"Shut up!" Lynn yelled as she swiftly pinned him underneath her again. They kept rolling as they wrestled until they were back on the grass and Taylor had Lynn pinned again "...not that I don't find that charming." he finished. A sudden moan put an end to their fight, Taylor looked up.

"The pipsqueak is waking up." he observed in surprise and got of Lynn, who grew concerned and rushed towards her brother. As she reached him and kneeled down, she saw that he was opening his eyes and she let out a huge sigh of relief. As Lincoln`s vision got clearer, he made out his sister, who quickly hugged him, before he could even make out his surroundings.

"Lynn? What happened? Where...ughh...am I?" he asked groggily, before suddenly feeling a pain in the back of his head. Lynn let him go.

" Stay down Linc, you had a nasty accident and you need to rest." she calmly told him with sisterly concern. As Lincoln became fully awake, his most recent memory started playing back in his mind " _Taylor?_ ", Lincoln went wide eyed and tried to get up.

"Lynn I..ah..." he exlaimed, but he felt his head spinning and collapsed.

"Do you feel dizzy?" Lynn asked, to which her brother simply nodded, making her sigh.

"I figured as much..." she replied dejectevly "...you hit your head hard and now you have a big bump because of it, just try not to strain yourself and relax, we`ll get back to camp as soon as you`re well enough to get up, but don't worry I`m in no hurry."

"Okay..." he mumbled meekly as he tried to heed his sisters advice "...but...before I passed away, I remember seeing Tayl..."

"Yes you saw Taylor, he`s here." Lynn told him up front, figuring there was no point in beating around the bush with it. That conformation gave Lincoln a small jolt and he finally started scanning his surroundings and saw the bully standing just behind his sister.

"Well rise and shine pipsqueak..." Taylor quipped, but as soon as Lynn glared at him, he let out a nervous laugh "...eh...anyways...eh... sorry about causing your little accident, it probably wasn`t my most ingenious idea for a joke to scare you with a knife, but it was all in good fun, so no hard feelings, kay? he said with a sleazy grin.

" _I must have hit my head real hard or did I actually hear Taylor say "sorry_ "." that was the first thought that went trough Lincoln`s head, but on the outside he was at a loss for words, partially from his dizziness and confusion, but also, as Lynn quickly noted, from feeling intimidated.

Lynn decided to act, she got up and started pushing Taylor away "Alright that's enough out of you, leave him be..." she grumbled, but Lincoln finally spoke up.

"What are you doing here?" the white haired boy asked weakly, Lynn stopped pushing Taylor who in turn rolled his eyes.

"Take a wild guess, I`m here for the same reasons as you Louds and it seems it's a small world after all...not that I mind." he finished with smile directed at Lynn who crossed her arms and glared away from him.

"And why are you alone? Where's your..."

"I`ll explain it to you Lincoln..." Lynn told him, before shifting her gaze at Taylor "...and isn't your fishing rod wiggling?", Taylor looked around and saw the rod bending, he smirked.

"Excuse me, but I have to catch my dinner." as he rushed off, Lynn sat back down next to Lincoln, who had managed to rise up, despite his dizziness. Lynn gave a small smile and wrapped her arm around him.

"Was he bothering you?" he asked her immediately.

"He did.." she replied casually "...but don't worry I know how to take care of myself." she stated proudly. Lincoln didn't doubt that, but knowing his sister he was more concerned if things turned as violent as the first time Lynn and Taylor met, when she was "taking care of herself".

"And did you fight again?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, it wasn't anything brutal. I went easy on him." she bragged, Lincoln had his doubts about how truthful that was, but he didn't press it any further.

He was frankly more concerned about Lynn`s well being than his own, knowing her temper and impulsiveness the last thing he wanted was her being around Taylor, not that he liked being around that brute any more. Taylor`s arrival had certainly soured their weekend, but Lincoln hoped that he and Lynn could leave as soon as possible. It was just a matter of him getting back on his feet.

He tried to remain optimistic in spite of the bad luck that has been following his family the entire summer, once they could get away from Taylor things could go back to plan, " _No way would that jerk follow after us, especially with dad around, the worst of this bump in the road is probably over. I mean what else could possibly go wrong now?_ "

...

"Dad! Lincoln! Lynn! Anybody!" Lana`s cries for her family pierced trough the usual ambience of the forest, but her desperate calls were always met with silence. The little blonde sniffed as tears once again threatened to leave her eyes. An ever growing feeling of dread consumed her, as the little tomboy slowly, but surely started to realize the gravity of her situation.

She had gotten herself lost, with no sense of direction, try as she might, she couldn't figure out how to retrace her steps, as everything in the forest, every tree, every bush, log or boulder, they all looked the same and blended together into a seemingly vast and endless maze.

Lana whimpered as the harsh reality started gnawing at her mind, she was lost, away from her family or any other human, tears escaped her eyes as the idea of never seeing her family started registering in her mind, she began to sob and hugged herself for warmth as she kept wandering aimlessly trough the forest floor.

 _"I can't loose them, I can't, I already lost Lola, I can't lose them too! No, please no, I can't ._.." she kept sobbing as she pushed her way trough some bushes, then a thought suddenly hit her "... _Wait? What was it that dad said I should do if I got lost?...Yes! Find things that I find familiar to find my way back._ "

Frantically Lana kept looking around, but saw nothing. " _No there has to be something!_ " she pressed on stubbornly while hot tears started dripping from her eyes, as she pushed her way trough some more bushes, she finally saw something familiar. That log that was eaning against the moss covered boulders which she had used as a slide before. The little blonde felt a glimmer of hope and desperately tried to think of any other landmark that could help her. But then nature threw her a curveball.

A deep, powerful bellow echoed trough the forest, causing Lana to yelp in fright, the noise was so loud and ominous that it frightened her immensely. A chill ran down her spine as she heard the monstrous bellow a second time. Her previous goal completely skipped her mind, as her instinct told her to run. She hid in the first patch of bushes she saw and lied down on the ground, doing whatever she could think of to hide herself.

The noise stopped for a while and Lana started to feel a bit more secure, she rose up and peaked her head from the bushes when a third bellow pierced trough the previous silence. Lana crouched down and looked trough the leaves and to her horror she saw a large, dark figure moving trough the trees and making loud crashes as it walked over the dry leaves and dead wood. Lana`s heart started pounding fast and she felt frozen with fear.

The large creature moved past the trees and entered the small clearing. It was a moose, Lana remained quiet, the immense size of the animal was both astounding, but also really scary to her. The giant deer started moving towards her, it's long antlers scrapping trough the low hanging branches, it stopped around 15 feet in front of Lana`s bush and started browsing on a spruce tree.

Lana watched him, feeling terrified. Her mind started urging her to get out of there while the moose was distracted, but her feet felt perpetually frozen. Bracing herself, Lana tried to run, but her rustling quickly alerted the moose, Lana stopped herself as she saw the moose turning his head, sniffing the air and subsequently shaking his head in an agitated manner while producing a guttural, rumbling sound.

Lana tried to hide, but she was already too far out of the cover of the bush, she once again froze with fear as she realized that the moose was starring at her. He didn't have any immediate reaction, he only turned his body to face her. Lana felt intimidated, but her nerves started to ease a bit from the animals calm demeanor. Maybe this moose was friendly? She was wrong.

The large ungulate stomped the ground with one leg and lowered his head, Lana screamed as the massive antlers charged at her, she jumped out of the bush, ran, but quickly tripped and fell. As she picked herself up, she turned her head and saw the moose crushing the bush with his head and antlers, he immediately looked up at her and stomped the ground with both of his front legs and charged at her. Lana screamed with terror and ran foward, as fast as she could and not daring to look back as the sound of grunting and stomping were right behind her.

She ran between two birch trees and instantly heard the sound of antlers crashing against them, followed by the sound of falling leaves. Lana ran and ran, to terrified to look back, while the moose backed away from the trees and stomped the ground and shook his antlers agressively, but didn't follow her. Lana kept zigzagging trough the cluster of trees, until she realized that she wasn't being pursued anymore. That was a close shave, but she wasn't out of the woods...

...

Lincoln kneeled down to cup up some water in his palms, he noticed how Lynn was by his side, which she hadn't left ever since he woke up.

"Lynn, you don't have keep watch over him all the time..." he told her, getting slightly annoyed "...I`m fine now, I swear." He had a point, as he was able to walk all the way to the water in order to take a drink without any loss of balance.

"I`m not taking any chanes Linc, you gave me quite a fright before and in case you suddenly fall down or get sick, I`ll have to be there to help you.", Lincoln was starting to feel miffed with her overprotectiveness and he looked down at his reflection, he wasn't a baby and he wasn't hurt that much.

" _Oh who are you kidding, you were_..." he realized as he remembered the big bump on his head "... _that thing will probably be a constant pain to me for days before it swells down, might as well be appreciative to Lynn for being helpful_.", he looked to see Lynn, who was giving him a reassuring smile.

He gave her one back "Thanks Lynn, but I really do feel better..." he emphasized that point by standing up without any problem "...I even think that I can head back to the raft.", Lynn stood up as well, her face showing signs of concern.

"I dunno? Are you sure you won't get sea sick? You know it's going to take a while to paddle back to camp..."

"In that case stay a while longer!", both siblings frowned as they heard Taylor butting into their conversation. They turned to see him still standing on a small small cliffedge, holding his rod and pulling on the handle, neither of the siblings thought highly of the invitation, not that Taylor cared to think about it.

"You`re family won't go anywhere and if you stay Lynn, you can join me when I cook my catch... oh yeah and Lincoln can stay too."

"Gee you're offer is very kind, but we don't hang out with people who beat us up." Lincoln replied sarcastically. Both Lynn and frankly he himself were surprised that he had the courage to even say that, Taylor however just shrugged.

"Those are old news now and what better way to make up and let bygones be bygones than while roasting food on a quiet and relaxing camping trip." he said while looking at Lynn.

"Oh don't you worry, I will be doing that... she replied and then grew a small smirk "...but with my family and I would advice you against thinking about following me, unless you want my dad to kill you."

Much to her annoyance, Taylor chuckled "Oh yeah, I figured he would be pissed of at me, but do tell me? Does he want me dead cuz I hit you or cuz I flirted with you?"

Lincoln could feel his sister trembling with anger, he put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Lynn was about to snap back, but Taylor raised his hand up to silence her while his attention was diverted to the handle of his rod.

"Hold that thought. I have a a bite." he pulled and pulled until he finally pulled a fish on his line. But Taylor pouted when he realized that the fish was tiny, barely 3 inches long. Lynn started laughing.

"Nice catch..." she mocked him "...if you're thinking to feed yourself that way then you might have a chance to make it up to me by starving to death!", as she kept laughing Taylor gave her a brief glare of irrigation, before relaxing and taking the fish of the hook. With a smile he released it back into the water.

"You`re right, better leave this puny guppy to the otters. When you fish, you must be prepared to suffer disappointment and press on, but the trick is to stay calm and level headed..." he replied in a chill tone before throwing his hook back into the water "...not that you're familiar with that." he added teasingly.

"What`s that supposed to mean!" Lynn snapped, much to Taylor`s amusement.

"Well I`m just saying that you're in need of some anger management training." Taylor replied teasingly.

Gritting her teeth, Lynn tried to attack him, but Lincoln pulled her back by her arm "Calm down Lynn! Don't let him get to you..." Lincoln suddenly looked away and quietly mumbled "... _he does have a point though_...", but Lynn heard him.

"What?" she forcefully pulled her arm free, causing Lincoln to tumble back, nearly loosing his balance. Lynn glared at him with clenched fists, "On who's side are you on?" she asked him angrily.

Lincoln held his hands up defensively, "On yours of course Lynn, it's just that...well you are a bit temperamental.", Lynn looked at him with narrowed eyes, clearly upset.

"Come on Lynn don't look at me like that, we all talked about how we need to be honest with each other and confront our faults." Lincoln tried to reason, his sister knew he was right, but still it was no piece of cake to face her faults, especially in front of their current company. Lynn relaxed and placed her hand on Lincoln`s shoulder.

"You`re right bro..." she said in a surprisingly calm tone, but Lincoln noticed a devious glint in her eyes "...and I`ll still try to get you to stop reading comics in your underwear.", unfortunately Lynn spoke out louder than she intended.

"He reads comics in his underwear?" they both heard Taylor exclaim from behind them, they saw his dumbfounded face and Lynn froze, knowing she had just screwed up. In no time Taylor bursted out with uncontrollable laughter.

"That...(laughter)...is...(laughter)..." Taylor could barely utter a word from his nonstop laughing, Lynn grew a guilty expression as she turned around to see her brother blushing with embarrassment.

"It not true!" he angrily cried at Taylor "I just...she...it`s..." Lincoln struggled to construct a sentence as Taylor`s mocking laughter kept crushing him. He let out a whimper and covered his face in shame, Lincoln then peaked trough his fingers and saw Lynn, her face filled with regret.

"Thanks a lot Lynn..." Lincoln said bitterly, before turning his back on his sister and sitting down.

"Thank you Lindsey...you just made my day." Taylor told her while holding his chest with his free hand, his laughter having decreased to a giggle fit. Lynn was trying to reach out and apologize to her brother, but the moment she heard Taylor talking, she became enraged.

"I hate you!" she cried at him, though she sounded less angry and more desperate at this point. She quickly turned back to her brother while Taylor suddenly felt a strong tug on his line.

" _Uhhh I caught me a big one!_ " he got exited and started pulling on the handle.

"Lincoln...I`m sorry...I didn't mean to...it just..." Lynn tried to apology to her brother who was now slouching dejectedly.

"It doesn't matter now Lynn, he knows." the boy replied somberly, he didn't sound all that angry at his sister, but simply depressed because his secret was out.

"What the?" they both suddenly heard Taylor shout and turned to see him with his arms outstretched, holding the rod. Taylor pulled them back and started pulling on the handle with much greater difficulty. What ever he had on the line, it was putting up one hell of a fight.

Lynn and Lincoln saw him struggle to hold on to the rod, when a huge tail fin suddenly broke the surface some 40 yards away from them, both siblings gasped in awe. Taylor was starting to feel overpowered and his line got another powerful tug, this time forcing him to step foward. The boy realized that he took on more than he could handle, when suddenly a 7 foot sturgeon leaped out of the water and dragged him right of the ledge and into the lake with, he hit the water with a big splash.

Unable to believe their own eyes, Lynn and Lincoln looked at each other before rushing over to the ledge. They saw Taylor surfacing and shaking his head, he opened his eyes to see that the fish was gone... and so was his fishing rod, as he pulled out and examined his empty hands.

"No!" he cried out desperately, before hearing laughter above him. He shot a vicious glare at the siblings. Lynn was kneeling down at the ledge with her hands grasping its edges, she pointed a finger at the soaked boy.

"Nice wipe out Taylor..." she giggled "...what a shame that I didn't have a camera!"

Taylor let out a low growl as he glared at her, "Well that was quite something. Tell you something Taylor, you keep my secret and we won't tell anyone about what we just saw." Lincoln made the offer while trying not to giggle, but quickly flinched and gulped when Taylor shot him a death glare and smiled ominously.

"How about you keep quite and I'll _think_ about not rearranging your face." Taylor replied threateningly and smirked when saw Lincoln`s reaction, but Lynn wasn't so easily scared.

"Oh don't be so mean to him Lincoln..." Lynn said jokingly before giving Taylor a look of mock empathy and started talking in a doting voice "...the poor, little boy lost his only means of finding food, now he`ll have to run back home or go hungry."

Taylor`s subsequent look of tranquil fury made Lynn crack up with laughter, but as she was doing that Taylor made a devious grin, and in no time he grabbed Lynn`s arm. Her laughter was abruptly cut as she was pulled into the water, Lincoln quickly rushed where his sister used to be and saw her surface in front of Taylor.

She spat out water and glared at him, Taylor laughed, "First rule of nature, always be on your guard.", as he kept laughing Lynn quickly dove down, grabbed his leg and pulled him under.

She surfaced and laughed as he swam back up to her and gave her a pissed of look, "I know that, I _am_ an athlete." she said smugly. Without a word Taylor splashed her in the face.

"And you _are_ all wet?" Taylor quipped before being splashed himself. Lincoln watched the two splash each other until Taylor dove down and before she knew it Lynn was pulled under. As she resurfaced the boy teased her, "Catch me if ya can!" and with that he swam off, Lynn got a determined look. " _Oh it's on!_ " she thought as she swam after him.

Lincoln looked on as they swam towards the small island of rock and shook his head " _I hate to admit, but it's kind of impressive how skilled Taylor is at pissing Lynn off._..", he watched Taylor climb on the rocky island, followed by Lynn, he saw her argue with Taylor before both of them plunged into the water and started swimming circles around the island "... _or that he can actually keep up with her, huh if I didn't know any better I`d say she was almost enjoying it_.

A while later, Taylor and Lynn both climbed back onto the rock at the same time, they sat down and started panting from exhaustion.

"Now wasn't this fun Lynn?" Taylor panted, albeit with a smile.

"No!" she panted angrily. Taylor finally caught his breath and smirked.

"Oh really? Then why did you agree to race me around this boulder? You like a good challenge, don't you?"

"I do, but not with you, you suck the fun out everything!" she crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Denial will get you nowhere..." Taylor replied in a sing song voice, "Well I did have fun and I was reminded how much I like your feisty nature, look how well we go together when we're having fun..."

Lynn grumbled and plunged back into the water. "Hey where are you going?" Taylor shouted before swimming after her to shore.

Lincoln met up with his sister, who was now pretty tired and let out a heavy sigh, "Lynn it's not that I want to cut your race with...him short, but I think it's about time we headed home." Lincoln said as he helped his sister climb onto the ledge, she simply gave an affirmative nodd.

"Where are you of to now, the fun has just begun?" Taylor called after her, but as soon as he started climbing up, Lynn placed her foot against his chest and pushed him back into the water.

"No it isn't." Lynn hissed at him before turning towards Lincoln "Come on Linc, let's go home..." she said more calmly.

"What?" Taylor said flatly as he floated in the water and saw them leaving.

...

Lynn pulled her rubber raft to shore and carefully led her brother onto it, but Taylor had followed after them and he was reluctant to let Lynn go.

"Come on now Lynn! You can't seriously be thinking about leaving? It's not even noon."

Lincoln had seated himself and noted how the bully was starting to sound desperate while Lynn didn't even care to give him a glance. To Lincoln it was actually starting to be amusing, but he kept quiet.

"Which is a whole noon more then I would like to spend with you." she replied while trying to climb back up into the raft, but Taylor grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Alright, what the hell do you want from me ?" he asked her in annoyance.

"Let me go!" Lynn yelled and slapped him away.

"What I want from you is for you to disappear!" she told him bluntly, Taylor glared at her and suddenly pointed at Lincoln, who flinched at the sudden gesture.

"Is it about him?" Taylor asked and made an annoyed sigh " Fine, I`m sorry, alright? I`m sorry that I picked on him and I'm sorry that I hit you too, can we now just start over?" he was sounding increasingly desperate, but he tried to mask it with annoyance.

"You say it, but I know you don't mean it..." Lynn replied in apathy and resumed trying to climb into the raft.

"Oh so spending time with your freak family 24/7 is what you want?" Taylor accused her, causing Lynn to stop before she could get into the raft. She felt her anger building up and balled her fist while Taylor threw his hands up in annoyance.

"What's your obsession with family? You see them every day and they won't go anywhere, I came here to get away from mine, but you keep using that excuse just to get get away from me over some petty grudge, I try to be nice to you, but you keep ..."

And then it happened, Lincoln barely had the time to register the next moment, but with immense speed Lynn swung her fist and punched Taylor in the nose, the boy fell back and hit the sandy ground. Lynn stood over his collapsed form, sweating and breathing heavily, Taylor quickly got up in sitting position and grabbed his bleeding nose and grunted in pain.

"They are not freaks! They are way better people thn you could ever hope to be! They care about me and I care about them, unlike you, you disgusting, self-absorbed, out of touch prick!" Lynn started ranting and walked closer to him. Once Taylor opened his eyes she cut him of from uttering a single word.

"You`re the most insufferable jackass I ever met! I despise the day I ever ran into you! I don't know what it would take to get something trough your thick skull so I'll tell you this as clearly as possible! I hate you! I don't want to be around you! Piss off! Take a hike! Go jump in a hole! I like to be around people who I love and can relay on, like my family! They may be annoying sometimes, but they`re still my family and I value them. Not that you would understand that with your "dog eat dog" mentality! You're a pathetic piece of shit and that's why everyone hates you! Hell I bet even your parents don't want you and let you wander of into the woods hoping you would be eaten by bears or something! Your an asshole and you'll always be an asshole and if you just died now, no one but the maggots would care about it!"

Lynn stopped as she ran out of breath and started panting, Lincoln was still dumbstruck, but then saw Taylor getting up while still holding his nose. Lincoln`s heart started pounding with fear, " _Oh no,no,no, this is not going to end well_..." he started panicking as the bully glared at his sister, while remaining eerily quiet.

Lynn stood her ground and the two had a tense standoff, punctuated by silence. Taylor then let go of his nose, revealing the blood that was dripping down from it.

"I can take a hint.." he said coldly.

"I doubt it, I dropped a million of them!" Lynn spat out. Ignoring his nose bleed Taylor dropped his glare and huffed.

"I can't believe that I thought you were cool, but your just a hysterical, ill tempered bitch, no better than your freak show of a family."

"Pff, I`d choose being one of them over being with you anyday." she replied with a smirk.

"Whatever, I wasted enough of time with you..." Taylor told her haughtily as he started leaving before shifting his towards Lincoln "...and as for you pipsqueak..." Taylor`s tone grew more threatening "...you won't always have your big sis to protect you and when that day comes you better watch your head, cuz I`ll be playing soccer with it.", Taylor let out an sinister chuckle and walked off into the forest. Lynn glared at him and balled her fists.

"Just you try! I`ll make you regret it!" she threatened back before turning towards her cowering brother.

"Why...me...I didn't do anything...to him.." he stuttered in panic.

"Don`t you worry about a thing Linc, he`s just bluffing to keep some of his dignity, it's so obvious..." Lynn reassured him as she got onto the raft and started paddling. As soon as they were on the move Lynn grew a very pleased smile.

"Man that feelt good, I never felt so relieved in my life. I have a feeling he finally got the memo." she said cheerfully. Lincoln didn't quite share the same sentiment, as Taylor`s threat still lingered in his mind, but once he recalled how his sister punched out the bully, he too couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome what you did."

"Oh you're not gonna tell me how I was "tempermental" and went too far?" Lynn asked jokingly.

"No...well you didn't need to say that thing about him dying, but otherwise I think he got what was coming to him... and I enjoyed every moment of it." Lincoln replied, getting into a much more chipper spirit.

"He sure did. And now our vacation can finally continue..." Lynn agreed as she kept paddling...

...

The moose attack had only driven Lana further into the unknown, with the number of trees becoming denser Lana could barely make out anything a few feet away from her. The light was also getting fainter as the canopy got denser, making the place come of as even more spooky and foreboding than before.

Once her legs were too tired to go on any further, she sat down and curled up in a ball. Closing her eyes she started sobbing with a feeling of utter hopelessness consuming her. She was lost, completely lost, alone and she might never get out of here or see her family again.

She dug her head into her knees and her sobbing intensified, she didn't know what else to do at a moment like this but cry her eyes out, there was no one to comfort her or tell her that things would be alright, she was all alone. The area around her was completely dark, with little to no light breaking trough the canopy, which only added to the despair and hopelessness that the little tomboy felt.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there crying, she never even lifted her head out of her knees to look around, but a sudden rustle woke her up and made she turned her head to the right, where she saw some kind of small animal scurrying trough the undergrowth where it exited trough a small crack in the bushes, which was emanating light. With her face dripping with hot tears Lana looked at that direction, with a glimmer of curiosity she followed after the animal and pushed trough the bushes, when she suddenly noted the sounds of splashing.

Once she exited on the other side, she was bombarded with light. She shielded her eyes before they adjusted to the light and what she saw left her in awe. She was in front of a river, but it wasn't flowing, as the water was blocked by a beaver dam, with one side being deeper than the other. Lana saw a bunch of the aquatic rodents ontop of the construction, adding more mud and wood to it, others were in the water carrying additional wood, while others did the same on land, walking trough the muddy bank and onto the dam.

Lana felt herself perking up, the sight of the fuzzy, little constructors filled her with curiosity and wonder, especially given what they were doing.

" _I can play in the mud again and do a good deed by helping these guys build their home_." Lana smiled with giddiness at the thought of rolling herself in and building things out of mud entered her mind. She quickly approached the nearest beaver she came across, who stopped and looked at her curiously.

"Excuse my, but would you mind if I joined you guys." she asked sheepishly, she remembered that the animals couldn't talk, but hoped that the beavers would give her some kind of signal. The rodent stopped looking at her and moved on.

" _I think they're fine with it_." was Lana`s interpretation, feeling exited she took of her shoes and cap and scooped up some mud with her good hand from the bank, enjoyingthe cold, mushy feeling of it once again, she stepped into the shallow, knee deep water in front of the damn and joined in with the beavers...

...

"Okay Lucy, catch!" Luan exclaimed as she and Lucy played back and worth with the beach ball in the waist deep water, the teen was happy to see her little sister in a better mood, finally having some fun certainly helped get her mind of that "monster" she saw in her nightmare. As they continued playing Luan ended up throwing the ball too high and it bounced of Lucy`s head before landing on the surface of the water where the light wind made it float away.

"Ups, sorry Lucy.." the comedian flinched.

"Don`t worry I`m fine, I`ll get it." the goth told her calmly and waddled trough the shallow water. The wind sent the ball all the way towards their camp, when Lucy finally caught it she saw Lisa exiting the tent, she akwardly lumbered around as if she couldn't see where she was going, it's then that Lucy noticed how the toddler wasn`t wearing her glasses, which she was carrying in her hand instead .

" _What`s going on?_ " Lucy was puzzled.

...

"What are you doing Lisa?", the genius quickly recognized Lucy`s voice, but she had trouble spotting her, squinting her eyes Lisa scanned her surroundings until she saw a dark blurr.

"Ah Lucy, it gives me a feeling of great solace that I located one of you, I was preparing to perform my studies on the local geology, but I was unexpectedly faced with a considerable complication." Lisa replied in her lispy voice.

"Eh I`m behind you, you`re talking to a stump." the goth told her, making Lisa feel embarrassed.

" _Blasted!_ " the genius cursed underneath her breath and turned around to see a blurr of black,gray and white, which she deduced must be her pale faced sister in her striped swimsuit.

Lisa then scowled and raised her glasses for Lucy to see, "Some cretin fractured my spectacles, you know that my optical capacity is severely impaired without the aid of my corrective lenses." she complained with extreme annoyance.

"Let me see..." Lucy took the glasses and examined them, the glass was gone save for a few fragments and the frame was bent out of shape "...yeah, your glasses have joined the realm of the deceased, do you have any spares."

Lisa`s scowl dropped and she looked down, feeling even more embarrassed "...well...eh not exactly, while I was assembling and securing my equipment...I...eh neglected to take this scenario into consideration..." her voice turned meek as she lamented herself inwardly for letting something so obvious slip her mind.

"What's going on guys?" Luan suddenly joined in.

"Lisa broke her glasses." Lucy informed her while showing her the broken spectacles, causing the genius to snap at them.

"That accusations is incorrect! I was sleeping when some imbecile vandalized them!"

As Luan observed her glasses she recalled a faint memory from last night, when she, tired and groggy, slipped Lincoln`s hand into a bole of watter and returned to find Lucy asleep, she quickly did the same only to recall a cracking sound before she dozed of.

" _Oh crap_..." the comedian realized and gave her annoyed sister a nervous chuckle.

"Well eh...your poor glasses sure are a sight for sore eyes..." she said sheepishly..."but I`m sure dad stacked some spares somewhere..."

...

But they had no such luck, there were no spare glasses to be found anywhere in the van, and they double checked their tent, Luan was getting worried, this was not looking good, they could only ask their father now, but he was seemingly still sleeping, " _But why would he still be asleep, I know he was tired, but it's almost noon..."_ Luan realized that as she contemplated waking their father up, then another realization hit here "... _and where's Lana? No way would she still be sleeping?_ ", Luan was starting to grow a feeling of unease as she was looking trough their tent. She got out and meet Lucy who was holding Lisa`s hand.

"Well?..." Lisa asked with low spirit, already figuring her weekend was ruined.

"I didn't find anything, sorry..." the teen told her, but her mind was drifting of as she thought about Lana and their father.

"Well this is simply superb, I suppose I can utilize the rest of my time here entertaining everyone else as the visually impaired jester." the genius replied with dry sarcasm.

"Eh yeah sure, good idea..." Luan said absentmindedly, earning a glare from Lisa, but Luan didn't notice "...say Lucy, how about you and Lisa go check on Lana, to see why she isn't up yet.", Luan already felt some dread asking for that. Lucy nodded and took Lisa while Luan headed towards the tent her dad was residing in.

" _Calm down Luan, there's no need to be paranoid, why dad is prob_..." her attempt at optimism was crushed when she opened the flaps and found the tent empty. She found a note from Lincoln, telling them where he and Lynn were, but there was nothing about their fathers whereabouts. Luan felt her sense of unease increasing.

" _Okay don't panic, he`s probably gone fishing..."_ Luan tried not to lose her cool and ventured outside of their campsite and she quickly came across her fathers fishing rod placed on the bank of the lake next to a box filled with bait and other fishing tools, along with a chair which had already been opened and set in place, but her father was nowhere to be seen. Luan looked over the vast expanse of the lake and then into the forest.

" _Something`s wrong_.", she knew it now, she called for her father several times, but got no answer.

"Luan!" she heard Lucy calling for her, the goth arrived while leading the blind Lisa with her.

"Lana isn't in her tent, we can't find her anywhere." her voice was filled with fear and concern, which only confirmed Luan`s worries. The teen was left stunned and speechless, Lana and their dad had gone missing...

 **So Mr Loud has vanished, and entirely independently from Lana, certainly that can't be connected to the glowy eyes from last night, right? And Lisa has been left practically blind for the time being, which will surely be of no benefit to her or the others later on. And Lynn certainly gave Taylor a piece of her mind, I think he's finally getting the fact that bullying a girl and her family won't get her to like you, but then again he probably isn't done with her...**

 **And I finally this chapter, it didn't take as long as I thought it would, but given how busy I`ve been this week, it certainly felt like forever.** **As usual constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as it helps an author not to loose perspective, as long as it is constructive and not dumb hate comments. Till next time...**


	5. The Beast Strikes

**And chapter 4 is finally up, now things will get serious and pretty violent, Taylor will suffer quite the ordeal in this and for those of you who wanna exactly that, this might be a rather satisfying chapter...**

Luan was faced with a dilemma, her day had quickly turned from fun and relaxing to tense and anxious once she had found out that both that her father and one of her youngest sisters were inexplicably gone. She was now alone with Lucy and Lisa, who were sitting on one of the logs surrounding the now extinguished fire, facing her as she still stood on her feet, bearing a look of deep concern.

She saw how both of her little sisters were likewise worried, Lisa was looking nowhere in particular, for unfortunately obvious reasons, but still showed obvious signs of unease, and Lucy had reverted back to how she was when Luan found her this morning, if not worse, she looked shaken, was eerily quiet and gazed at the ground. She seemed like she was on the verge of crying and knowing her sister Luan figured that the goth likely assumed that their missing family members met the most dire of fates. The teen knew that it was time again for her to act as the responsible one, she couldn't let her little sisters fly into a blind panic, they had to stay level headed, especially if there was no real reason to worry... hopefully.

Her younger sisters were waiting for her to say something, to tell them what to do next, but unfortunately Luan didn't know either, all she could do now was to keep things calm until Lincoln and Lynn returned. She finally spoke.

"Okay,okay, I know you two must be worried about where dad and Lana went of to, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this. Given how upset Lana was yesterday, dad probably took her to show her something here in order to cheer her up, that's probably it, he knows this place well and probably knows a lot of fun things to go and sightseeing.", neither one of her siblings seemed especially convinced.

"But it would be highly uncharacteristic of our father to simply wander of without informing at least one of us." Lisa voiced her doubt, Luan knew this to be true, but her guess about Lana`s and their father whereabouts simply had to be true, what other explanation was there?

"Well he...he probably took Lana early in the morning and they likely planned to return...before we even woke up... but they probably just lost their sense of time." Luan tried to rationalize it, though she was having a hard time believing it herself.

"That`s not it..." Lucy mumbled solemnly, all eyes were on her now.

"What...what do you mean?" Luan asked her, the goth kept staring at the ground.

"It got them...it took them..." Lucy mumbled in a shaky voice "...they`re probably..." she didn't finish as fresh tears escaped her eyes and she started sobbing softly, a concerned Luan kneeled down in front of her.

"What`s wrong? What are you talking about?" the comedian asked her.

"You know what I'm talking about..." the goth replied as her teary eyes looked back at Luan, who quickly figured what her sister was getting at. That made Luan feel a tad angry.

"Lucy! We`ve been over this already, there's no monster here and it has nothing to with this, why would you even suggest that!" the teen`s tone came out more sternly than she had intended, but that idea was too grim and over the top even for Lucy`s standards.

"I know what I saw and you're just lying to make us feel better..." the goth accused her with a hint of anger, Luan was taken aback and so was Lisa.

"Lucy, while it is true that we don't know all the details, I must voice my agreement with our elder sister, when it comes to deducting mysteries the theory with the fewest assumptions is often times the correct one."

"So I'm... supposed to believe that dad would... just go somewhere without telling us?" Lucy told her between her sobs, her tone growing more bitter. She then glared back at Luan with a look of distrust.

"You know what happened, but you're lying make us feel better..."

"Lucy you're being ridiculous, I`m not lying, I`m being reasonable here..." Luan tried not to sound agitated and then sighed "...for the last time, there's no monster, you just saw some shiny eyes and then you had a nightmare. Dad and Lana are fine, they'll probably come back any minute now, can you please stop being a pessimist and just trust me?"

Lucy noticed her sisters growing frustration and it only made her feel even more upset. She knew something foul had happened, but her sister was ignoring her.

"You don't seem to trust me..." Lucy replied somberly as tears poured down her pale cheeks, before suddenly jumping of the log.

"Lucy where are you going?" Luan called after her, Lucy ran towards the van, opened the door and shut herself in. Luan saw her curling into a ball behind one of the seats before she disappeared from view below the windows.

Luan sighed and massaged her head in frustration as she sat next to Lisa. Why was Lucy being so overdramatic and jumping to such horrible conclusions?

" _I guess she can't help but be pessimistic, I have to talk to her...ughhhhh if dad and Lana would just come back already,everything would be fine again. They will come back, of course_." Luan stopped, as she realized what she was thinking.

" _Ughh stop being paranoid, they`re alright, there's no reason to think otherwise._ " she scoldedherself, before remembering that Lisa was still there, after the latter made a cough to gain attention.

"If I am to belive that my auditory perception is at very least still functioning properly, I believe that Lucy might need some time to herself right now, in order to contemplate. But if it's any consultation, I personally have faith in your judgment as my elder sibling, therefore I will cease to worry until further notice..." Lisa gave the comedian a rare smile, showing that she was sincere.

Luan appreciated that, but she couldn't shake of the feeling that her judgment of the situation was wrong, " _Oh please come back already dad_." she thought with unease.

...

Taylor grunted in frustration while he was sitting in the woods, trying to carve a long stick into a pointed spear with his knife, he snorted as he felt some more blood clogging up in his nostril and sneezed it out, only to feel more irritating pain in his bruised nose. Taylor put down the knife and grabbed his nose, hissing with pain before wiping of the blood. Mumbling curses under his breath, he brushed of the pain and resumed carving his spear.

His mood was none the better, first he lost his fishing rod to some stupid giant sturgeon, forcing him to relay on this crappy,wooden spear to catch fish, which he doubted would yield any results and then Lynn just spurned him, like he was worthless garbage.

As her words kept ringing in his head, the boy growled furiously and cut harder into the wood.

" _That bitch has some nerve, I`m was being more than generous by even allowing a freak like her to be around me, but she just treated me like crap, insulted me and gave me one painful hit after another, all because she can`t let go of a freaking grudge._ "

Her words kept repeating in his mind. Nobody would care if he dropped dead? Taylor huffed angrily, so what if nobody cared? Why would he care about it? He didn't need anybody and he didn't give a rats ass about what any of those losers thought about him in that shit hole of a town, and his family?

" _Bah, why should I care about what they think either? They don't worry about what I do and I don't worry about them, simple as that, they don't even know where I am right now, mom and dad actually bought that_ _cockamamie_ _lie about me visiting a new friend I meet out of town, it's a miracle that I managed to get their attention long enough to even lie to them in the first place."_

They were all worthless and he should pride himself as a loner? He was perfectly self reliant and didn't need anyone, Lynn`s rejection of him didn't matter more than anything else, so why couldn't he just brush it of and forget about her?

" _Meh it's probably just her obnoxious, self righteous attitude, yeah right, I saw trough her little temper tantrum, she probably bullied other kids in the past, she is a sports jock after all and since when was her kind anything but bullies to those less popular than them? And she couldn't take it when I caught her hypocrisy, if I just hadn't run into her little, rodent faced pipsqueak of a brother, she`d probably be fawning all over me now..._ "

Taylor started growing a smirk, as he was seemingly putting the evidence together in order to paint Lynn in an unflattering image.

" _Yeah, she's not only ill tempered, but also a self righteous hypocrite, that's probably why my mere presence pisses her off so much? She can't take the fact that there`s someone stronger than her or someone who is honest and open about who he is, it shattered her little delusions about being better than she really is. Ha, why did I even waste my time with such a pathetic, little bimbo..."_

At that question, Taylor`s mind started conjuring up Lynn`s image, what was there about her worth carrying abour? She`s foul tempered, hypocritical, she's tough, but still no match for him, foolishly brave and impulsive, doing things without much thought (like trying to fight him), and therefore obviously not too bright, but then again what did he expect from a jock? At least her spunk and fearlessness was admirable compared to all the cowards in town, as is her looks.

Taylor`s mind started drifting of as he thought about her pretty face, her sleek, brown hair and even her cute freckles, for a moment he felt warm and fuzzy on the inside, before abruptly stopping his train of thought and growling in annoyance.

 _"Get a grip on yourself your idiot, she might be pretty, but she`s also a pathetic bitch and she ain't worth all the punches and insults, you know better than that, it's not like she meant much to you to begin with_..." as he was telling himself that, he kept feeling that warm sensation, which only made him more frustrated. Unknowingly he dropped the knife and grasped the stick with both hands.

He was starting to feel ill from his own conflicting emotions, he couldn't possibly have a crush on her, she was just another disposable date at best.

 _"I don't have a crush on her, I do not, I do not!"_ ", his denial only fueled his anger until he was suddenly snapped out of it by sudden crunch. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Taylor looked down and his face twisted with anger as he he saw that he had snapped his would be spear into two. The boy yelled in frustration and threw both pieces into the bushes before massaging his temples to calm himself.

" _Just calm down Ryan, don't let that girl get to ya, just don't think about her, think about something else, anything. The spear! I need to make a spear to catch my dinner!_ " trying to distract himself with the task, Taylor ventured further off into the woods, trying to find any kind of wood that he could craft into a spear.

He searched trough the forest floor, finding and then throwing away various sticks that were either too thin, too short or too rotten to be of any use, until he grabbed something out of the dead leaves that he thought was another piece of wood, but on closer linspection it turned out to be a rib bone.

Taylor saw tooth marks on it, but thought nothing of it and threw it away, predators eating other animals was just part of the norm here in a forest. But as he kept searching, he stumbled across another one and soon after he found an entire leg laying under a pine tree, stripped of all it's flesh, with only the hoof still attached to it. Curious Taylor approached it, but then he gave it a kick once he felt his stomach growling.

" _How swell, I`m starving over here, while those coyotes are having a feast scavenging on some poor buck who bit the dust._ " he thought sarcastically before moving on. Taylor kept looking for something to make a spear out of, but as he walked trough a patch of bushes he noticed how several of them had been crushed and flattened, as if something had stomped over them and right in front of it he saw a small conifer tree which had been fallen and right next to it were several more bones, scattered across the ground.

Here he also smelt a faint, musky odor, which made his nose wrinkle, " _Look like someone has been marking his territory._ "

Getting a bit suspicious Taylor investigated the scene and found a path flattened trough the grass, some kind of large animal had definitely passed trough here. Taylor followed the trail of scattered bones, until he suddenly came across a definitive, and rather shocking sign that a struggle had taken place here. Blood.

It wasn't much, but the boy could make out dry blood which had been smeared on the trunk of a spruce tree, this made Taylor feel rather uneasy. He quickly noticed something else, a small patch fur snagged against the rough bark of the tree. Taylor grabbed it between his fingers and took a very close look, it definitely wasn't deer hair, it was dark in color and rather coarse.

The signs were obvious, something had killed this deer, but what? A pack of coyotes? Taylor couldn't think of anything else within the area that could have done it. Taylor felt reluctant to look for any more clues, but as he looked to his right he saw what looked like an antler peaking out between some bushes. Taylor edged closer and found a grizzly sight.

In front of him laid a deer skull, minus the jaw, but with one antler still attached to it, not far away was its detached spine, with parts of the rib cage still conected to it, the sight didn't frighten Taylor, but then he took notice of the large, branching antler and his eyes went wide. This wasn't a white tail deer, but rather an elk. There's no way that coyotes, even a pack of them, could have killed a 600 pound elk.

Taylor felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that he was in the vicinity of a far larger and more dangerous predator, its kill was a mere walking distance away from his camp. For the first time in a while, the boy felt afraid, but this time it was over his life. He instinctively pulled his knife out of his pocket, but his face was plastered with fear and his breathing quickened, " _I have to get out of here_." he attempted to rush towards his camp, but fate had a different idea in store.

Taylor haulted in his tracks as he suddenly heard an animal vocalizing and crashing trough the vegetation.

" _Damn it!_ ", he ducked behind the nearest tree and held his knife up defensevly, but the animal that came into sight and stopped several yards in front of him wasn't a predator, but a white tailed deer, a doe.

Not noticing the humans, she lowered her head down and started panting heavily. Taylor observed the deer and immediately noticed how one of her her hindquarters was covered in blood, it didn't take Taylor much to realize what was going and he was struck with horror. This couldn't be happening.

The boy frantically scanned the area, but saw no sign of the predator, he had to get up a tree, that was his only chance now. The one he was hidding behind had no low hanging branches, he desperately looked for one that did, but then he heard the doe panicking, Taylor saw her sniffing the air and bolting away.

" _Shit...shit_..." Taylor mumbled with clenched teeth and looked around again, the clustered tree made it hard to see anything, his heart started pounding as he heard the foot fall of something else running over the dead leaves and needles that covered the forest floor, Taylor started sweating and scanned the area until he finally spotted a pine tree with a thick branch just 6 feeet of the ground, but it was nearly 30 yards away from him.

He had no time to think, only to act. Without a second thought Taylor rushed towards the tree, not daring to look back or to his sides, he had to reach the tree as fast as possible. After what seemed like a terrifying eternity he found himself underneath it, placing the knife in his mouth, Taylor jumped and grabbed hold of the branch, with all his strength he pulled himself up and wrapped his arms around the branch, he swung his left leg and placed it over it, he was almost there.

He started feeling a wave of relief, but then Taylor felt an abrupt and excruciating pain in his right thigh, causing him to scream in agony, letting his knife droop to the floor. He felt sharp fangs piercing trough his flesh and clamping over his thigh, within a second he was yanked of the tree and his head hit the ground hard. He felt his head ringing and the world spinning, but he was immediately jolted out of it, as the pain in his thigh came back full force, he heard loud snarling and felt himself being dragged across the floor like a a ragdoll, branches scraping against his skin and his head and body bumping against the rocks.

He caught a glimpse of a dark figure that was dragging him by his leg and in the corner of his eye, Taylor saw the elk skull coming into view. Acting quickly Taylor grabbed the skull and with all his migh, he hit his attacker with it. The animal yelped and let go of him.

Ignoring the burning pain in his thigh, Taylor scrabbled back to his feet, but it was already too late, the beast was right in front of him and jumped on it's hind legs.

Time seemingly slowed down as a terrified Taylor gazed up and saw the beast towering over him, a wide open mouth of sharp teeth and outstretched legs with huge paws and claws, descending on him...

...

"Eh Lynn I think I'm going to puke... Lincoln said nauseously before quickly clasping his hand over his mouth and bulging cheeks "...again."

"If you gotta hurl, remember, do it overboard, you ain't getting any of that stuff on my raft." his sister ordered him while she was paddling. Lincoln listened and Lynn turned her gaze to the side, feeling a bit sick herself after hearing her brother vomiting in the water.

"Just hang in there Linc, we`re almost there." Lynn reassured him as their camp came into view.

"Don`t worry Lynn, I`m feeling better now."

"Your constant hurling tells me otherwise, once we`re there you're going to take a nice, long nap in your comfy tent until further notice, with an ice pack, and that's final." Lynn told him firmly, she knew that Lincoln wasn't keen on being confined to bed rest for the whole camping trip, but there was no alternative for the moment following Taylor`s ill planned prank.

Lincoln sighed dejectedly "Alright...I will, but do you think that I`ll at least be well by tomorrow?"

"We can only hope..." his sister answered with uncertainty, before taking a quick look towards the way they came from and her features darkened.

"And one more thing bro, can we keep the part about Taylor to ourselves?"

"Huh...why?" her puzzled brother replied, while a nauseous feeling started regrowing in his stomach.

"Well it's just...just thinking about him makes me mad and I'm pretty sure we saw the last of his ugly mug for now, so why spoil their day by talking about him, they don't need to know that info." Lynn really did want to forget about that bully as fast as possible.

Seeing as she had a point and since they had another problem on their hands, Lincoln agreed to keep quiet about it as well. Little did they know that their siblings had far more troubling news in store for them.

Sitting together with Lisa, Luan saw them pull their raft into the shallow water, the teen smiled and felt a certain amount of relief from seeing them return safe and sound. Meanwhile Lucy peaked trough the windows of the van and felt a strong surge of hope and relief after witnessing their return. She quickly got out of the van.

Luan led Lisa by her hand and they met up with Lynn who was helping Lincoln walk back to shore.

"Guys you're back!" Luan exclaimed cheerfully, but her smile quickly dropped and her tone turbed more forlorn, she rubbed her head "Eh there's something we need to tell you."

"We`re all ears sis, but first you need to hear us out." Lynn cut in and instructed Lincoln to turn around, revealing the swollen bump on his head. Luan made a gasp, while Lisa remained unfazed, since she had no idea what she was supposed to be looking at.

"Are we meant to be witnessing something out of the ordinary?" she asked while squinting her eyes.

"Lisa, why aren't you wearing your glasses?" Lynn noted. The genius frowned.

"Because some cretin shattered them!" Lisa felt her anger boiling up again, Luan looked away sheepishly for a moment, before redirecting her attention back to her little brother.

"How did this happen Linky?" she asked in a worried voice. Lincoln turned around and had a look of uncertainty, not sure if he should tell the whole story. He shifted his gaze towards Lynn and finally spoke.

"Eh..it was just a bad accident, I tripped on a root and hit my head on a rock, just some of my usual bad luck I guess?" he chuckled nervously.

"You poor thing, you need to rest now.." Luan stopped abruptly, as Lucy appeared and hugged her brother.

"You`re alright." she mumbled with relief as her head was pressed against his chest, Lincoln was confused by her sudden gesture of affection, but notheless he hugged her back.

"Well...of course I am, I was just gone for a few hours, didn't think you`d miss me this much." he chuckled, but stopped as Lucy looked up at him, her eyes filled with despair.

"Something bad has happened." the goth told him and Lynn, earning a disapproving glare from Luan. Lynn and Lincoln seemed surprised and confused, Lynn shifted her gaze at Luan, who flinched a bit from it.

"What`s she talking about?" the jock raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah what happened?" Lincoln added, sounding a bit unnerved.

Luan didn't know how to break it to them without inciting more panic, but before Lucy could get a word in, she spoke up "I`ll tell you, but first we need to take care of Lincoln. Lynn please get the first aid kit from the van while we help Lincoln get comfortable in his tent."

Lynn did as she was told and the others escorted Lincoln to his tent, now that they were all together Luan would have to break the news to him and Lynn. And then they would need to think about what to do next, the longer their father and Lana remained absent, the more did Luan start to realize that something went wrong.

...

He ran, pushing his way trough the thicket, his lungs burned and his body felt like collapsing from exhaustion, but he pushed himself on with the fear for his life being the only thing fueling him onwards. Branches and the occasional thorn bush kept scratching his skin and the dense forest made navigation extremely difficult, causing him to repeatedly stumble, but he kept picking himself, holding tight to the elk skull he was carrying and kept on running.

But eventually his body couldn't take the strain anymore, Taylor collapsed on his knees and started desperately gasping for air, his face was red and it was sweating, his lungs felt like they were on fire from the lack of air, he had to take a break now, whether he liked it or not. The adrenaline wore of and he quickly felt the burning pain stinging in both his thigh and on his left cheek, which was dripping with hot blood. Taylor wiped it of and looked at his blood smeared hand, he was still out of breath and he couldn't resume running.

As he panted with exhaustion, he starred blankly at the ground and his brain could finally register the full severity of his situation, causing him to allow himself something he didn't do in a long time, cry. Hot tears started forming in his eye, blurring his vision, he was going to die, he would be killed any moment now, he knew it was inevitably.

He heard something crashing trough the forest and suddenly Taylor felt a boiling rage inside of him, if he was going to die, he wouldn't do it lying down, gritting his teeth he sucked up the aching pain from his thigh and lifted himself up. He pinned down the skull with one foot and broke of the antler. He held it up and scanned the area, after several minues of silence he started screaming in anger.

"Show yourself, you son of bitch!" Taylor knew there was no point in staying quiet, as his attacker could easily sniff him down. His refusal to appear, made the boy feel like he was taunting him, toying with his nerves until he finally pounced. But the silence didn't remain for long. He heard the beast running trough the thicket, the noise was getting closer and any courage Taylor felt before quickly drained away and he ran of into the opposite direction, but he didn't get far before he felt the ground giving way underneath his feet.

He tumbled down a ridge until he abruptly stopped and banged his head against the ground. He lost consciousness for a few seconds before opening his eyes again, he painfully pulled himself up and saw that he was in a small clearing, as he got his barrings Taylor realized that his only means of defense was gone. He looked up and saw the antler snagged against a tree root, cursing he tried to get it back, but the moment he heard rustling on top of the ridge he quickly decided against it and ran of into the opposite direction.

...

"See, I told you I could help." a cheerful Lana told the beaver next to her, as she stacked some more branches on top of the dam and pressed mud on them, the rodent paid no mind to her and dove back down into the the water. Lana giggled as she watched it swim away with only it's head poking out, she herself was by now entirely covered in dirt which stained both her clothes and cast and bits and peaces of it were snagged in her blonde hair, she of course relished the feeling of being covered from head to toe in this stuff, it's been so long.

Laughing happily, she waddled carefully over the dam and back onto the grassy banks of the river. She searched for more wood to help her new friends build their home, but once she had assembled a small stack and was carrying it back, she heard some animal noises coming from the forest. Lana turned her head towards the source of the sound, she didn't know what it was, but it had roused her curiosity and she quickly ventured off deeper into the forest. Then suddenly she heard the sound of branch breaking, followed by a loud thud and a pain filled grunt.

...

Taylor was laying down on his back, his entire body aching with pain and a large branch pinning him down. He pushed it of him and with great struggle, got back on his feet. At this point it felt like fate was twisting the knife on him, he finally found a tree he could haul himself up, only for the first branch to break of the moment he grabbed it. Knowing there was no point in whining about it, Taylor started limping foward, the wounds in his thigh still stinging with pain, he noticed the river up front and went towards it, when suddenly he heard a small voice exclaim "Tayor!"

The boy got startled, halted in his tracks and turned around and was meet with Lana, who went agape and dropped her wood. Taylor had the same reaction, they starred at each in surprise, while Taylor was briefly confused as to why this little girl looked familiar, before recognizing her as Lynn`s sister, the cast on her arm being a dead giveaway.

"You?" he blurted out, completely gobsmacked, "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked with a mix of anger and confusion, but Lana wasn't focusing on his question, but rather on his scratched up, bloody face, before looking down at his right leg which had blood pouring down all over it.

Lana gasped and covered her mouth, she had never seen so much blood and it was a chilling sight for her. "You...you`re hurt!" she she stuttered in a shaky voice. Taylor quickly grew agitated.

"Oh really? What ever gave you that idea?" he asked with bitter sarcasm, which flew over the little tomboys head.

"Cuz your bleeding! You need to get to the doctor!" she blurted out with concern, Taylor wanted to snap at her, but he got cut off. They both heard an animal bellowing in pain and panic, punctuated by snarling and growling and the sounds of a struggle.

Lana tried to see where those sounds were coming from, but Taylor went pale with fear. He looked at the little girl and started cursing under his breath, his luck went from bad to worse.

What should he do with this brat? Leave her and save himself? Why not, it wasn't his duty to protect her, she would just be dead weight. But that was not his next action.

"Come on!" he yelled, Lana yelped as Taylor forcefully grabbed her by her good arm and started leading her with him.

"What are you doing! Let me go!" Lana protested as she tried to free herself, her feet were planted still, but Taylor simply dragged her across the ground . He turned his head and gave her an intense glare.

"Shut up and follow me if you want to live!" he snapped at her, Lana was confused at his choice at words.

"What are you..." she stopped when the sounds of the struggle got louder. She turned her head and in the distance, behind a cluster of trees, she made out two figures, one tawny colored, the other black. The later was clinging on to the formers backside.

Lana turned her head back as she and Taylor stopped in front of the dam, she saw the beavers panicking and they all dived into the water, never resurfacing. Taylor looked over the dam in fear and puzzlement, Lana briefly turned back to the forest and caught a glimpse of the tawny animal kicking the black one of it with it's back legs, before suddenly being hoisted up by Taylor.

Holding the 5 year old in his arms, Taylor started crossing over the dam at a cumbersome pace.

"What's going on Taylor?" Lana asked in confusion, as she was pressed against his chest. He didn't answer, only giving her a quick side glance, but in that moment she saw the fear in his eyes.

Lana turned head around and saw the tawny animal appearing right behind them, it was a doe. Lana gasped as she noticed the blood stained fur on her backside, the deer looked frantically at the water, before jumping in it. Lana shifted her gaze up and saw the black animal trotting towards them from the forest, it's figure growing larger as it came nearer, Lana realized that the animal was dangerous and was suddenly overcome with fear.

"Taylor, what's happening..." she whimpered in a meek voice, the boy didn't look at her, as he was too busy trying to move trough all the branches sticking out of the dam.

"Shut up and let me focus..." he hissed at her, then there was a sudden cracking noise and before she knew it, Lana found herself falling and plunging into the water. Bubbles escaped from her mouth, as she found herself bellow the surface, struggling to get up, she felt a hand grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up. She caught a gulp of air and was pulled up on the dam.

Moving her soaked hair out of her eyes, Lana saw the doe reaching the other side of the river, shaking herself dry and running away, she turned around and saw Taylor struggling to free himself, as one of his legs was completely stuck in the dam, she saw something behind and looked around him, the sight made her scream.

A black wolf had his front paws planted at the very edge of the dam, he was bearing his teeth and had his ears folded against his head, his snout had deep scars over it and he starred at them with one yellow eye, his other one appeared to be damaged. Taylor saw him climb onto the damn and slowly prowling towards them.

"Damn it!" he hissed while struggling to free his leg, when he suddenly felt Lana hugging him as she started sobbing.

" Taylor, I`m scared..." she whimpered, before forcefully being pushed away.

"Quit yammering you little idiot and scram!" he angrily barked at her.

"But...bu..what about you?" she stuttered, paralyzed with fear, they heard the wolf growling behind them. Taylor grew more angry.

"I said get out of here! Now!" he snapped at her, while pulling a branch out of the dam. He swung it and hit the wolf in the head. The animal growled and snapped his jaws at the branch, quickly pulling it out of Taylor`s grasp. The wolf advanced at them, but then a creakwas heard under his paws and both of his front legs suddenly crashed into the dam and his larger head landed mere inches away from Taylor.

Taylor backed away as much as he could as the canine snapped his jaws at him, before starting to squirm, trying to free himself. Taylor saw that Lana was still there, sobbing and shaking in fear.

"Do you want to die? Run now!" he yelled at her, sounding more desperate than ever. The wolf backed away as he pulled himself out of the hole, he once again looked at the kids, growling and preparing to pounce at them, but suddenly, water started flowing between them, breaking trough the middle of the dam and creating a gap between them. The structure started shaking and crumbling apart, as more and more wood started drifting away.

The wolf backed away and jumped of the dam. "He`s going away!" Lana exclaimed happily, but Taylor struggled to get his leg free, realizing how the dam was breaking apart while they were still on it. Lana`s joy quickly turned into fear as the dam broke down under her feet and they both plunged into the water, as the river resumed flowing its natural course.

Lana was swept under, not knowing how to swim she sunk under the surface and started drowning as the last of her breath escaped her mouth. But at the last second she felt Taylor`s hand grab her own and he pulled her up while they were being sweeped away. Lana coughed up some water as she wrapped her arms around Taylors neck to stay afloat, he in return wrapped one hand around her waist to keep her up.

"You saved me, thank you." she spoke with a garbled voice. Taylor sighed.

"Don`t mention it..."he replied exasperatedly, while looking away. Lana smiled.

As they drifted down river Taylor saw the wolf on the horizon, watching them go, growing smaller till he disappeared from sight. Taylor sighed inwardly, he was finally safe.

"Can you please help me find my family? I got lost." Lana suddenly asked him in a pleading tone.

" _I don't have much of a choice now, do I?_ " the annoyed boy thought.

"That won't be an issue squirt, no doubt the mouth of this river will flow us right into lake Clark, once we get there we just need to scour the beach till find them... _I just hope that wolf doesn't find us first_." Taylor added mentally, before grumbling in annoyance as Lana hugged him tighter while thanking him over and over...

 **And what do ya know? Taylor actually saved Lana and she's out of harms way, for the moment. Good thing the wolf ran into the forner first rather than the latter , who managed to escape him (how? you'll see later), otherwise it would have been bye bye Lana. Now it's up to the bully to get her back to her family and warn them of the danger. As for what happened to Mr Loud, it's still anyone`s guess. Till next time...**


	6. Marooned in Michigans Woods

**Took a bit longer than planned to write this down, but then again this turned out to be the longest chapter so far and I'm happy to finally present it...**

At long last they had arrived at the mouth of the river. With his last remaining strength Taylor swam towards the nearest sandbank, with the toddler still clinging on to him. He dragged himself to shore and Lana finally let go of him once they were in the knee deep water, Taylor felt completely burned out and fell on his knees. Feeling immensely weary, he crawled the rest of his way until he reached dry land, at the very least he wasn't bleeding anymore, as the water had washed up his wounds by now. Soaked and battered, but finally feeling safe, the boy collapsed and rolled onto his back, he closed his eyes to shield them from the blistering light of the midday sun and started panting heavily, memories of the wolf started flashing trough his mind, he still couldn't believe it that a mere half an hour ago he was attacked by one, mauled, ran for his life and was on the verge of meeting a gruesome death, yet miraculously he had managed to escape it.

The last part was the hardest to believe, once his leg got stuck in the dam, Taylor had pretty much accepted that his time was up, the only thing he could have done at that moment was to force the brat to save herself. And yet, against all odds, both of them had managed to live trough a close up encounter with a wolf. Taylor got jolted back to reality once he heard Lana cheering and jumping with joy.

"We did it! We escaped that mean ol`wolf!" she exclaimed triumphantly, Taylor growled inwardly, he wanted to rest so badly and in his current state Lana`s shouting and jumping sounded as aggravating as nails on a chalkboard. He wanted to tell her to shut up, but he barely had the energy to yell anymore. Planting his hands into the sand, he pushed himself upwards and sat up.

"Will you..." his hoarse voice quickly gave up on him and he started gasping pathetically. Without warning Lana jumped at him and embraced him in a hug, Taylor was stunned by the sudden gesture before scowling.

"What...are you...doing?" he asked in a demanding tone, but lacked the energy to simply push her away.

"Thanking you for saving me of course." she replied innocently before backing of and looking at him with a sprightly smile, her expression made Taylor feel nauseous. His look turned into a blank glare.

"You seem awfully chipper..." he said snidely "...considering we came _this close_ to freaking dying!" his voice grew more agitated while he made the appropriate gesture with his fingers.

"If those glorified rats had made a sturdier damn we would have beeen bloody goners!"

Lana was taken back by his outburst and her smile faltered a little "But...we got away? Isn't that what matters?" she replied naively. Taylor mumbled angrily, but then calmed himself, understanding that the brat was making a good point, no point in whining about what could have been, it won't do him any good, he just needed some damn rest right now.

"Fine, whatever, just please be quiet now and let me rest..." he drooned with subdued aggression and tried plop back down.

"Hey Taylor can I ask you something?", the boy cursed inwardly, already knowing that this pest wouldn't let him have a breather.

"What?" he asked with tranquil irritation, her naive smile and chipper demeanor was unbearable.

"Well Lynn said a lot of bad things about you, how you were a jerk, a bully, a monster, a per...rer...per..eh..." Taylor rolled his eyes with slight amusement as she struggled to pronounce the last word "...eh and some other words that dad said should never be spoken out loud, because they are bad words..."

" _Figures Big Nose Daddy Loud is against expressing yourself with colorful words_." Taylor snorted inwardly.

"Eh I`ve been called worse, what's your point?" he shrugged dismissively.

"Well I don't think those things are true, you saved me and you protected me, I think you're actually very nice, not the villain Lynn said you are.", Taylor snickered.

"Did she actually use the word "villain"? News flash kiddo, this ain't a comic book..." he suddenly held his hands up "...but make no mistake, I am a bad guy, there ain't nothing _nice_ about me. I`m rotten to the core.", he was already seeing the signs that this pest was getting attached to him, which was the last thing he wanted, or did he...?

"But why did you save me then ?" Lana asked the obvious, Taylor didn't answer her as he was preoccupied thinking about how he could use her to get himself out of this mess. The little blonde smiled, thinking his silence meant that she had outwitted him. She giggled.

"I see, you're just pretending to be mean, you're not bad like Lyle, you didn't let him hit me that one time and you were worried when he hurt me and Luan, and now you saved me, you are nice!" Taylor`s eyes twitched slightly as she kept referring to him with the dreaded n-word and then, to his horror, Lana gave him another hug.

"Will you quit the hugging!" he complained as he pried her of his neck "...I don't do hugging!"

"Why? It makes people feel better? And you got badly hurt, people who are hurt need to feel better." she told him innocently.

"Well, not this guy!" Taylor pointed at himself " Unless a hot chick is doing it, this sentimental crap makes me feel ill." Lana tilted her head in confusion.

"Why would you want a hot chicken to hug you? I mean I like animals, but that seems a bit weird." Taylor groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Nevermind! Forget it." he said exasperatedly "We have more important matters on our hands, now... hey wait a second!" Taylor finally noticed that the little girl was missing something.

"What happened to your cast?", Lana looked at her right arm and saw that it was free.

"I dunno...I think it fell of in the water?" she answered, Taylor facepalmed.

"Well this is just peachy..." he muttered with bitter sarcasm before looking at her "How`s your arm now? Can you move it?"

Lana`s arm felt stiff, but she quickly started rotating her wrist and then squeezing her hand into a fist, feeling no pain.

"It a bit stiff, but it doesn't hurt. I think it's all better now!" she grinned excitedly, while Taylor sighed with some relief.

"Let`s hope so, alright, just don't try to use it till we find your family, speaking of which..." Taylor rose up to his feet. His expression wasn't a happy one, but he tried not to sound desperate.

"Now listen squirt, I hate to be asking you Louds for help, but I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. I`m gonna need a ride out of here and I was kinda hoping you guys could do me a solid on that." he wore nervous grin, not quite sure if it was do to worry or embarrassment or both. Lana looked confused.

"Sure, but why can't you go with your family? Won't they be worried about you?", Taylor twitched uncomfortably.

"They...eh aren't here, I came here alone, they...eh thought I was old enough to go camping on my own." Taylor lied on the fly.

"Wow, really?" Lana was astounded "Dad would never let Lynn or Luan do that?"

"Well different folks different strokes I guess..." Taylor shrugged, eager to change the topic back to him getting a ride..."and speaking of being alone, how did ya end up there with the beavers?" Taylor cocked an eyebrow intriguingly.

Lana looked down, feeling somewhat ashamed "I...eh..got lost." she answered in a small voice.

"...yes, yes I figured as much..." a deadpan Taylor replied "...but _how_ did you get lost? I doubt your dad gave you clearance to explore the woods all by your lonesome. ", Lana looked sheepish and shuffled her foot.

"I saw some raccoons and followed them, then I couldn't find my way back."

" _Yeesh, that clown is even more incompetent as a parent than his hairdo would imply_." Taylor snickered inwardly before shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Lena. Lena. That's like camping rule number one : don't wander of into the woods by yourself, especially if you're a preschool ankle bitter. You're probably gonna be in a shit load of trouble with your family."

"Hey I was only trying to have fun, it was an accident! And my name is Lana!" the tomboy shouted defensively. Taylor put his hands up.

"Wow there kid I believe ya all the way..." he said insincerely "...and I`ll put in a good word for you, so you won't be grounded till you`re in middle school, but first of I just need you to promise me that you'll convince your family to let me hitch a ride with you..," he smiled a sleazy smirk and kneeled down to Lana`s level.

"I know your family and me had our...disagreements, but hey I _did_ risk my skin saving you kiddo, so your family ows me a favor, you just need to convince them not to maim me on sight and explain things to them, kay squirt?"

"Of course Taylor..." Lana nodded "...I won't let you stay here all alone with that mean, nasty wolf."

"That`s the spirit kid..." Taylor petted her on the head and got up "...now let's get moving.", they started traveling along the beach , Taylor still limped a bit on his right leg, but he sucked up the pain and kept moving , but then, all of a sudden, he felt Lana grabbing his hand. He shoot her a glare.

"What are you doing?" he asked her in a deadpan voice. Lana giggled.

"Holding hands so we won't get separated." she told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Taylor pulled his hands free.

"Alright, alright, alright..." he waved his hands up while his brow knitted in frustration "...if you're gonna travel with me, you need to follow a few ground rules. One: no hugging. Two: no hand holding. Three: no talking about our feelings. Leave all that fluff for your sisters, kay?"

"Okay Taylor..." Lana nodded.

"Good..." Taylor felt satisfied, but he barely took three steps before Lana started talking again.

"Hey Taylor? Did you know that I have a twin?" the little tomboy was eager to strike up a conversation, "Her name`s Lola and she looks just like me, but she's not at all like me, she's likes to play princess and...", Taylor cut in.

"Yeah, yeah, she sounds really fascinating, but let's not talk about your family or about yourself now, there's...eh clearly a lot of interesting stuff about your family to know and you can tell me all about it after we gett back to town ... _as in when I give you the slip_...don't you think that's a better idea?"

"Oh okay...but what about you?"

"Wut?" Taylor said flatly.

"What`s your family like?" Lana asked him eagerly. Taylor grumbled.

"They`re nothing special, they're quite uninteresting really, I wouldn't want to bore you with that." he put on a fake smile.

"Oh, and what about you? What do you like to do for fun? Do you have a favorite tv show? Do you like animals, I do and I love visiting the zoo..."

Taylor was fuming on the inside from her incesive chatter, could she ever shut up? She kept on chattering as they traveled along the beach.

"And why do you have those dark eye bags? You know, Lucy has them too and your skin is kinda pale, though not as much as her, and you both have black hair, did you dye yours too?"

Lana leaned in closer and whispered " _Lucy`s actually a brunette_.."

Taylor struggled not to snap, the last thing he wanted to talk about was his own appearance, he counted to ten to calm himself before speaking, "Eh no, my hair is all natural, now could you..."

"Oh, okay, and why are your teeth so crooked? Luan had the same problem and she`s now wearing braces to fix that...", Taylor`s eyes twitched uncontrollably, she was really testing his patience now.

"Look can we please not talk about this..." he tried to persuasive her to zip it.

"And what do you think about Lynn? I heard how you complemented her about being pretty? Are you in love with her?" Lana asked teasingly before trying and failing to make a gagging gesture out of Taylor`s sight, who meanwhile haulted while letting out a growl and tensing his body.

"Are you okay Taylor?" she asked him.

Taylor started doing some breathing exercises and ran his hand trough his hair until he finally regained his cool. He turned to Lana and put on the friendliest smile he could force himself to. He spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Hey squirt, how about we stop this idle chitchat and play a little game along the way instead?"

"A game? Sure! What is it?" Lana asked enthusiastically. Taylor`s eyes narrowed.

"Simple, whoever manages to stay completely quiet for the longest wins..."

"I dunno that sounds really boring?" Lana frowned. Taylor`s face dropped, but then he had an idea! He kneeled down to her.

"You`re right, bad idea, we don't have time to play, when we should be on our guard?"

"Our guard? Lana was puzzled, Taylor nodded at her.

"Yes indeed, that wolf could be following us and pounce at any moment?", Lana`s eyes widened.

"What?!" she shrieked in horror, Taylor put his around her.

"Aha, and that's why I must focus on keeping my eyes on the woods, while you must be on the lookout for your camp. The sooner we find it the better and remember not to leave my side under any circumstances ..." Lana nodded fearfully and Taylor was satisfied, but deep down he knew this wasn't just an excuse to distract her into being quiet, they were still in the woods and on the wolf`s turf, exposed and vulnerable.

Taylor urged the girl to keep moving and fast...

...

"So you're telling me they`ve been missing the whole morning..." Lynn asked.

They were all gathered in one tent, where Lincoln was resting with Lucy and Lisa by his sides, the goth was helping him to hold an ice pack to the swollen bump on his head, while Lynn and Luan were sitting near the entrance. Lincoln and Lynn had been filled in on what had happened and of course neither took the news of their fathers and sisters prolonged absence very well, expectedly the former tried to remain more calm and level headed about the situation, while the latter, as usual, was more impulsive.

"And you have no clue where they went?" she asked Luan accusingly. The comedian didn't take her attitude kindly.

" I thought you were trying to be the responsible one? But just what the hell were you doing this whole morning while they disappeared?", Luan frowned.

"Well excuse me for for needing some slumber..." she replied sarcastically "...it`s not like I spent half the night comforting Lucy over her nightmare, while you were sleeping like an angle."

She crossed her arms "Besides, if you had just let her join you two on your rafting trip we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"Hey! Don't try pinning this stuff on me, I was being the responsible one here and I didn't let her join because it was not safe." the jock defended herself.

"Oh sure, having a cast on your arms makes it lethal to stay in a rubber raft on still water. And you say my jokes are bad." Luan`s replied snidely, "You just wanted me stuck with the babysitting duties so you could enjoy yourself."

"Well if you actually did what you were supposed to do instead of running around in a bear suit, scaring the crap out of people, we wouldn't have needed to give you some karmic justice."

Lincoln rolled his, this pointeless arguing was giving him a bigger headache than his bump, he was about to intervene and sat up, still holding the ice pack to his head "Alright you two, enough..."

"Oh so this was all about petty revenge cuz you couldn't take a joke Lynn? Real mature..." Luan then sent Lincoln a disapproving look "...and you were on this too?"

"Wut?" the boy was confused before shaking his had "No, we never talked about any kind of payback, we just wanted to spend time together..."

"Oh don't be modest Linc..." Lynn told him supportively "...you weren't gonna let her get away after she had caused you to have your accident..."

"Wait, what? You knew about it?" a shocked Lincoln blurted out, while growing a light blush. Lynn shrugged.

"Sure I did. That bole your hand was in was hard to miss and I figured the rest, but I wanted to spare you the embarrassment.", Lincoln groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Nevermind, let's just stop this pointless bickering, it won't get us anywhere and no one here is at fault, okay?" The two older sisters frowned at each other, before Lynn shrugged.

"Your right bro, dad was the one who decided to go on a trip and to think he scolds us, and especially me, if we come home late, yet here he takes of without a word to any of us. Oh I certainly won't let him get away with this." the jock mused. Lisa chimed in.

"Excellent point my sister, our patriarch would be in a unbefitting and ill-suited position to dictate the rules in our household if his own action defied the rules he was enforcing and mire him in hypocrisy..." she started rubbing her chin thoughtfully "...maybe under the right circumstances, I could persuasive him to let me have my laboratory..."

"Guys, enough pointing fingers..." Lincoln sighed "...and dad put the lockdown on your lab for a very _combustive_ reason Lisa.." he told the genius as a matter of fact, causing her to turn her face away, sheepishly. Lincoln then looked at his oldest sister.

"Luan, have you tried calling him?" he asked plainly. It was Lisa who answered for the teen.

"No need to direct us to the most obvious resolution to our dilemma, Luan tried to achieve that several hours ago, but we ran into a _slight_ inconvenience...", Luan glared at Lynn.

"Yeah, someone promised to charge all of our phones while we were packing, but it would appear she was bit absent minded...", after hearing that remark Lynn turned her face to her side, self-conscious of her mess up.

" _So that was the thing that was nagging me in the back of my mind when we left. Stupid!_ " she mentally slapped herself for letting that slip her mind. If that douche Taylor hadn't harassed her, she would have been thinking more clearly while packing for the trip she rationalized.

" _You have got to be kidding me : first Lucy and Luan spend a sleepless night, then Taylor shows up, then Lisa breaks her glasses, then dad and Lana go missing, and now we can't even call them...or anyone. Is this some twisted joke or has my family been cursed?_ " Lincoln lamented inwardly.

He sighed "Guess all we can do now is wait for them to come back?" he said dejectedly.

"You mean if they come back?" Lucy mumbled even more dejectedly. Her siblings immediately looked at her disapprovingly.

"Lucy don`t start that crap again! It's not funny and and really freaking stupid!" Lynn snapped at her, rather angrily, none of them were fond of her insinuating that their father and sister were taken by some grinning monster from her dream, but for the jock it was particularly egregious.

"I know what I saw, just because you didn`t see it..."

"You betcha I didn't, cuz I looked around this place just to make you feel better and I saw nothing exept some weasel, so please quit whining about your stupid dream monster before I loose my patience!", and with that Lynn started walking out of the tent.

"I`ll be watching out for them, you guys look after Lincoln.", once she was gone, Luan also decided to keep a look out for their family members, now alone with Lisa and Lincoln, the goth slouched down downhearted. Lincoln placed his hand comfortably around her shoulders.

"Lucy you need to stop thinking that horrible stuff, it's not good for us and it's not healthy for you, just relax, kay? Dad and Lana will be fine...", but the goth didn't listen. The longer they failed to return, the more she was convinced that they wouldn't return, filling the little goth with dread and grief.

...

Taylor observed the forest to his left with an eagle eye, his nerves on edge and his mind on high alert, trying to notice even the faintest sign or sound of movement, he lost track of how long he and the blonde brat have been traveling around the beach, but when you're nervous and constantly on edge times flies by fast. A sudden rustle to his front made him turn his head, but to his relief he only saw a squirrel scurrying up a a pine tree, Taylor groaned before suddenly noticing something unusual behind the tree. Taking a closer look he saw a van parked on the beach and behind it, several tents. Taylor`s face lit up.

"Yes, I found them!" he raised his fists triumphantly "This little death trip is as good as as over, now squirt, I need you to..." he stopped as he motioned his eyes to his right and saw no sign of Lana.

" _What?_ " he started panicking and frantically looking everywhere, " _Where is she? I told her to stay by me!_ " , he growled in frustration and started retracing his steps, fortunately it didn't take long until he spotted a small speck of blonde,teal and blue within the forest greenery. Lana was crouching down and she was picking some flowers, from a distance Taylor stopped and looked at her frustratingly.

" _Ughhhhh what kind of an attention span does this little idiot have, I tell her one thing._.." he stopped himself and rubbed his forehead "... _just keep it cool man, it's almost over._ ", he calmed himself and started walking towards her, but then he noticed something else that was also zeroing in on the toddler. Taylor gasped, grabbed the biggest branch he could find within seconds and ran towards her.

Lana was peacefully picking up the prettiest flowers she could find, thinking they might serve as a nice forgiveness gift for making her family worried. But as she was preoccupied, she was blissfully unaware of the coyote that was prowling towards her, the coyote started trotting towards her, it's speed increasing as it came nearer and nearer.

But then, as it was a mere few inches away from the girl, the coyote felt a powerful kick to it's side, it yelped and tumbled away from Lana. She got startled by the sudden noise and turned around to see Taylor yielding a big stick and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"GET LOST! GE OUT OF HERE!", the coyote scrambled to it's feet and started barking, snarling and bearing it's teeth, Lana screamed and ran behind Taylor, who struck the coyote two times while yelling and shooing it away. Luckily this canine lacked the fearlessness and ferocity of it's larger cousin and soon ran of into the thicket.

"And stay lost Wily!" Taylor shouted before glaring at the frightened toddler.

"Have you any idea how lucky you were...again! A few more seconds and you would have been done for!" he snarled at her.

"I`m sorry, I just wanted to pick these..." she said apologetically while showing her flowers.

"Being sorry wont't matter much if you're dead." he told her coldly, Lana felt regretful and stupid for disobeying him and wandering of. She suddenly threw the flowers away in anger as they only reminded her of her careless action.

" _Just stay calm Ryan, it's almost over, almost over_..." Taylor told himself and forced his expression to lighten up.

"Nevermind, I`ve got great news squirt..." he suddenly told her in a more chipper tone and Lana looked at him intriguingly "I just found your camp kiddo!"

"Thank you Taylor! Thank you!" without warning she jumped and gave him another hug, Taylor glared at her before grumbling with a look of defeat.

" _I`m never playing hero again!_ " he bitterly gave himself a memo.

...

Lynn was sitting on one of the logs trying to get her mind of hers and her siblings current worries. Where were her father and little sister? She was growing ever more worried and she was starting to feel growing sensation of guilt, Luan was right, if she had just let Lana come along on her rafting trip, there would no problem now.

Lynn sighed, she had been unfair to Lana, purely out of her selfish desires not to play babysitter and her need for petty vengeance against Luan for making a fool out of her.

" _All I wanted was some quality time with my bro, why did things have to go down the dumper because of it._ ", Lynn didn't want to buy into Lucy`s stupid boogeyman story, but the longer Lana and their father failed to return, the more they all started worrying about the worst.

"Seen any sighn of them?" Luan approached her, Lynn slowly shook her head, still looking at the lake.

"Nada.." said Lynn, feeling more and more hopeless, Luan also starred at the lake, scanning the surrounding forest for the faintest sighn of their sister or father, but saw nothing. With their backs turned, they failed to spot two figures emerging at the edge of the forest and the larger one instructing the smaller one to go ahead, while he leaned against a tree. Lynn decided to get something of her chest.

"Luan...eh...sorry for saying those thing back there...I didn't mean it, it's just..." the athlete swallowed a lump "...I was worried and confused, but mostly worried."

"It okay Lynn, we`re all worried..." the comedian smiled slightly and sat next to her, "...I shouldn't have accused you of wanting payback and all that either."

After some silence Lynn finally went and asked something she dreaded asking, "Luan..." she left a beat as the comedian looked at her, Lynn sighed "...what if they don't come back soon? What if they don't even come back by nigh fall? Wh..what then?"

Luan noted her sisters uncharacteristically weak tone and she understood why she was like that, "I don`t know Lynn, I just don't know..." she replied feebly "...I`m worried sick about them and I don't want to scare the others, but I have a feeling that...something bad has happened..."

Lynn hated hearing that, but couldn't argue about it, she could only feel more dread and despair, as her worries and especially her lack of knowledge about her fathers and Lana`s whereabouts ate at her from the inside.

"Hey what's that bad thing that you say happened?" a small voice asked while tugging at Lynn`s arm.

"Not now Lana, I`m thinking..." Lynn stopped midsentence and her face froze with shock before turning to see Lana looking at her, she was missing her cast, cap and shoes and her clothes looked soakes, and there were some scratches on her cheek, but she was alright. Luan had the same reaction and they both starred at her for a moment.

Before Lana could properly react, she was almost chooked to death in a double bear hug.

"Lana you're alright, we were all worried sick!" Luan nearly cried from joy.

"Don`t ever scare us like that again you little rugrat!" Lynn said affectionately. The little tomboy immediately felt regretful about making her family worry about her.

"I`m sorry guys, I didn't mean to." she said shamefully.

"Never mind that, just where were you?" Lynn asked. Meanwhile Lincoln, hearing the commotion, looked out of the tent and got a very pleasant surprise that removed a huge load of his chest.

"Lana...she`s back, come guys..." he called for his sisters and soon ran out with Lisa holding his hand. Lucy came after them and saw Lana in front of them, the goth couldn't believe her eyes and felt an indescribable amount of relief, she was wrong, and in spite of her stoicism she was ecstatic that she was wrong and let a smile grow on her pale face.

...

From the shadows of the forest, Taylor was still leaning against a tree, arms folded, growing increasingly disgusted as he watched the happy reunion.

" _Better reveal myself to these smucks already before I loose my lunch...if I had any._.."

"Hello ladies..." the siblings, minus Lana, froze in surprise and, minus Lisa, they all looked up to see Taylor leaning against the van, wearing a laidback smirk.

"Taylor?" Luan and Lucy were shocked, Lincoln scowled and Lynn became enraged, while Lisa remained confused until the name and the voice registered with her.

"The one and only." the black haired boy proudly confirmed, before he starting to approach the family, a fuming Lynn quickly broke in front of the group and raised her fists.

"What`s he doing here?" Luan questioned, meanwhile both Lincoln and Lucy noted how the bully had a slight limp, as well as the deep cuts on his face. Lucy felt a chill running down her spine, already assuming the reason behind this.

"Don`t worry guys, he came here with me." a still happy Lana told them out of the blue, much to their collective surprise.

"I warned you about following us...Hey!" the jock complained as Taylor casually sidestepped her, without any response to her presence. He smiled, trying to smile pleasantly at the family, but his expression came of more as ominous and sleazy.

"Hey! I`m talking to you!" Lynn snapped from behind him, but still got no response.

"Ah the Loud. It's so cool to see you guys again..." he started as he mingled into the group, much to their discomfort. Lincoln soon felt a painful fist bump into his shoulder.

"Linc-Meister, my main man, how are you?" Taylor asked as he petted Lincoln on the back, the latter felt to Lincoln like he was struck by a baseball bat.

" _He`s up to something_.", that much was clear to Lincoln as he rubbed his shoulder.

"And the little Einstein is here to, finally using contact lenses I see!" Lisa flinched as she felt someone scruffing up her hair.

"Hey!" the genius snapped and angrily looked up at the dark blur looming above her, "You're unsanitary, deleterious appendages have no permission to invade my personal boundaries you vile and revolting vagrant!", Taylor`s face dropped at the overly elaborate remark.

"Wordy little tike, isn't she?" he said bitterly, but his face lit up a bit as he looked at Lucy, who shrank under his stare.

"And the Ghoul Girl, still as spooky and emo as ever!" he reached out to pet her on the head too, but she hid behind Lincoln, who hugged her protectively. Taylor shrugged indifferently and shifted his gaze at Luan. She flinched when he made a wolf whistle at her.

"Luana..." Taylor started, sounding impressed "...you look dashing with your hair down and nice figure you got there...", Luan blushed with anger as Taylor`s eye started scanning her up and down. Fuming, she tried to smack him, but he caught her hand and drew her closer.

"Come now, don`t tell me you're still mad at me for throwing a tomato at you that one time?" he asked smarmily, Luan`s eye narrowed.

"What do you think I am!" she snapped while trying to free her hand.

"Hey babe, you can't blame that on me, you went on a stage, if you go on stage you consciously put yourself at risk if the audience doesn't like your shtick..." Taylor told her nonchalantly "...though if you came on there in your swimsuit, you probably would have gotten a much better reaction." he added in a flirty tone.

"Make another comment like that! And I'll kick your ass all the way to Iowa!" a furious Lynn yelled at him. With a look of annoyance he let go of Luan and looked at Lincoln.

"Can you please tell that...thing behind me that I ain't talking with her anymore." Taylor told him tiredly while pointing over his shoulder at the jock, who in return balled her fists.

"Oh that's real mature of ya, you big, buthurt baby!" she shouted back at him.

"Enough Lynn!" Lincoln suddenly snapped at her, much to everyone`s surprise, "We don't need anymore fighting right about now, so PLEASE just stay out of this!" he shouted angrily.

He then sighed and looked away from the shocked athlete towards Taylor, the look in his eyes showed disdain and suspicion, "Okay what`s with the "friendly" act, what do you want now?"

"Yes what the hell do you want!" Luan joined in, her voice filled with contempt.

"Wow what's with the hostility..." Taylor waved his arms up nonchalantly "...is that any way to treat the guy who protected your little sis and saved her life twice?"

"What are you blabbering about?" Lynn barged into their conversation again.

Taylor didn't look at her, but elaborated further for the others "I saved her from drowning and then I saved her from a coyote, no need to thank me..." he crossed his arms smugly.

"But you do owe me a favor..." he added.

"It`s true guys..." Lana moved towards Taylor and grabbed his hand, much to his annoyance, "...he`s changed and he did save me, he`s really nice!", Taylor cringed slightly.

"Kay, but don't lay the n-word so thick squirt." he advised her with mild frustration.

"I followed some raccoons and got myself all lost, I was alone and he helped me to find my way back, and we have something important to tell you..." she continued.

"Wait? So dad wasn't with you?" Luan blurted out, her blood already running cold. Lana shook her head.

" ?" she asked cluelessly before looking around "Where is he anyway?"

The siblings looked at each other, their faces filled with fear and confusion, if Lana was saying it then it had to be true. Apparently Taylor did save her life, and they were thankful for her safe return, regardless of who did it, but if their father didn't go with her, then where was he? Then Lincoln felt Lucy tugging at his sleeve.

" _Please ask him how he got those scratches and the limp?_ " the goth asked in small voice, but inwardly she dreaded to learn the answer.

" _Don`t worry, I will_." he whispered reassuringly. All eyes were back on Taylor.

"Taylor..." Lincoln started and the bully looked at him, unsure of what the other boy was gonna say.

"...thanks...for saving Lana..." he finished awkwardly. Luan, Lisa and especially Lynn all looked away with annoyed glares, it felt outrageous to them that one of them would even think about thanking the biggest jerk they ever met, but considering what Taylor did, none of them were in a position to make Lincoln take back what he said.

Taylor noticed their displesure and smirked gleefully, he had them in their debt, whether they liked it or not.

"But where did you find Lana and what the hell happened to you?" Lincoln suddenly asked him, once again taking note of the deep cuts on Taylor`s cheek, "Why are you limping? And why's your face all scratched up?"

"Oh that? Eh nothing important..." Taylor shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, Lana looked at him with deep concern, not understanding why he was underplaying his accident, before Taylor finally dropped a bomb at the siblings "...I was just...sorta...attacked by wolf."

The next thing he and Lana knew, the others went wide eyed, agape and for several moments became deathly quiet.

"A...w..wolf?" Lincoln stuttered.

"Yes, it's like a dog, exept bigger, meaner and with bigger teeth and claws... and with pointy ears." Taylor quipped in response.

"That`s bullshit! Dad told us there were no wolves...or bears...or mountain lions around here, you're lying!" Lynn shouted at him.

Taylor glared at her, deciding he gave her enough of his silent treatment, "Well it would appear that your dear daddy was wrong tutz, otherwise how do you explain this!" he pulled the right leg of his swimming trunks up to reveal a U shaped row of puncture marks around his thigh, the siblings were all in shock, Lincoln and Luan tried not vomit, while Lucy looked quietly in horror, her worst fears we're proven correct. Even Lynn was horrified and backed away from the gruesome sight.

"He`s telling the truth Lynn, I saw the wolf too. He was huge, and black and had big yellow eyes!" Lana spoke up while raising her little arms for emphasis.

"I was right!" the kids heard Lucy speak up, "There is a monster here, but none of you believed me!" she shouted, uncharacteristically loud and angry.

"What`s she talking about?" Taylor asked, Lana was likewise puzzled, but the rest of the siblings went quiet, not knowing what to say. Lucy felt ill as the grim reality fully registered with her.

"I saw the wolf last night..." her voice started cracking up as tears started forming in her eyes"...but no one listened to me...later...I heard it...walking into our camp and..." tears came down and her voice turned feeble "...it had stuck it's head into my tent and almost snatched me away...", she then started sobbing.

"And all of you said it was just a nightmare..." she sobbed while Lincoln hugged her, Luan felt like dirt right now, her little sister was nearly dragged away by a wild animal and she just dismissed it as dream, she quickly joined Lincoln in trying to comfort Lucy, as did Lana.

"Lucy...I...I`m sorry..." the comedian said solemnly.

Lynn likewise felt awful for dismissing the goth the way she did, but before she could move Taylor spoke up.

"Are you kidding me? That wolf was already here and knows where your camp is? And all of you boozoos, exept for the little ghoul, were completely oblivious about it?" Taylor asked in utter disbelief.

"So? And what's your freaking point!" Lynn shot back at him. Her blood started boiling when she saw him shake his head and laughing.

"My point is that you Louds can thank your lucky stars for your dumb luck so far, otherwise little miss gloom and doom would have been an appetizer by now." Lucy shrank further into Lincoln`s embrace from that remark, while he, Luan and Lynn all shoot glares at the bully.

"Oh and like you were aware about it oh great outdoorsman!" Lynn shot back at him, Taylor glared back and crossed his arms.

"I at least read the signs once I saw them, when I found his kill I tried to flee, but he caught me. So I had to fight him of on my own, using just deer skull as a weapon and I showed him who was boss, I even gauged out one of his eyes with the antler..."

"Yeah right, half of that crap you said is probably a lie." Lynn pointed at him accusingly, Taylor huffed dismissively.

"Whatever Freckles. It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, what matters..." he said dryly as he walked closer to the rest of the siblings "...is that you guys can feel bad about being terrible siblings latter, right now we have to get the hell out of here, that mangy cur could come back at any moment and when he does we need to be somewhere far away from here..." he put on another faux friendly smile and clasped his hands.

"Now why don't you get your father to drive us back home, of course since your in my debt for saving Linda..."

"It`s Lana!" the toddler complained.

"Yeah sure whatever.." he shrugged apathetically "...anyway your have to let me come along, you don't even need to bring me back home, you can just leave me once we enter the town and I can walk my way back home, what do you say, huh?" Taylor talked eagerly at a fast pace, unaware that there was a slight problem with his siblings were quiet.

"Yeah guys he earned it, we can't just leave him here!" Lana chimed in for him. It was Luan who finally broke the news to her.

"Lana, dad`s gone missing..." she revealed it to them feebly. Lana grew a look of surprise, while Taylor`s eager smile froze in place as he pressed his hand against his ear.

"Scusi...missing? Did you say missing!" he said incredulity.

"Missing? You mean he`s gone? What happened?" Lana`s previously spirited demeanor made changed completely, as fear and worry engulfed her. Unfortunately no one could give her an answer to her question.

"We don't know, once me, Lucy and Lisa got up he was just gone, we found his fishing gear set in place, but he was nowhere to be seen, we waited for hours, but he still didn't came back, we thought he was with you, but..."

"But this conclusion was obviously incorrect..." Lisa cut into her sisters nervous rambling, her voice was collected as she contemplated "...given the circumstantial evidence I can only draw one logical conclusion for our fathers absence, he must have discovered that you were missing and went to find you, he must have assumed that he would quickly find you behind the nearest tree line, but it appears that you wandered of further than anyone would have expected..."

"But I'm back now, won't he come back now too?" Lana asked naively, the genius pondered.

"Hmmmm.. by all logic he should have returned by now, it would be uncharacteristic for him not to return and inform us about your absence if he didn't find in the nearby area..."

"Isn`t it obvious..." Lucy finally spoke again, her voice cracking.

"What do you mean? Lincoln asked, she looked at them all, her eyes red and with hot tears forming again.

"I told you already..." she sobbed and sunk her head into her brothers chest "...Taylor only confirmed it..." , after she said that the group once again went quiet, Lana was yet again confused, but everyone else quickly got it.

Once it hit him, Lincoln felt completely numb and his world turned blurry and mute, he slowly sat down as he lost balance, while Lucy was still clinging on and started sobbing in his lap. He didn't have any comforting words to tell her, as he himself was too stunned and lost in his thoughts to react to anything.

Taylor saw the rest of the siblings going into a similar state of shock, Lisa went as stiff as a statue and her face was unreadable while her mind pulled the pieces together until she came up with the logical conclusion. At that moment all her stoicism faded away and she started sobbing, like any kid who was told that one of their parents wasn't coming back. Lynn was frozen with shock.

Lana looked at them with confusion and concern "Guys what's wrong, why are you crying?" she asked worriedly. She tugged at Luan`s arm, but the teens mind was elswhere as she was starring into the forest, " _Daddy no_..." she whispered underneath her breath, before she sat down on one of the logs and buried her face into her hands.

"Guys what's going on?" Lana cried in confusion, she saw Lucy and Lisa crying and Lincoln starring blankly. Taylor watched the whole situation and it didn't take much for him to figure what they were thinking and to his horror it made complete sense.

" _Oh god_..." he thought grimly. Right then a particular memory flashed trough his mind, those screams he had heard this morning? He had completely forgotten about it, but right now that memory gave way to a chilling conclusion. At that moment he wasn't sure if those noises came from an animal or a human, but now that he reflected back on it? And he and the Louds were the only people here as far as he knew? Taylor shuddered and stopped himself from imaging the scenario that nearly played trough his mind.

"Lynn? Taylor? why are they crying?", Taylor was jolted out of his thoughts and saw Lana looking up at him, her expression was desperate and she was on the verge of crying. The boy was speechless, having no idea how to respond to this. Next to him Lynn shook herself out of her thoughts and spoke up.

"Guys those are crazy thoughts!" she shouted angrily, but most of her siblings didn't seem to hear her. Lynn started trembling, both from fear and rage.

"How can you jump to such stupid conclusions. He probably just got lost out there! We need to find him!" she yelled at them, Lana looked at her hopefully. Taylor not so much.

He didn't know whether he should tell them what he knew or if he should keep it a secret. This had turned into a delicate situation and he quickly concluded that he should keep quiet, there was no tactful way of saying it without turning the situation much worse, and that would be of no benefit for them or him. This was not the time to get emotional, but to act.

"Guys, guys..." he started in a chill tone "...as much as I hate to admit it, the tutz is right, he probably just got lost, don't lose your cool now, first we need to get out of here...ah!"

"You stay out of this! It's none of your business!" Lynn snapped and pushed him away. Seeing this Lana grabbed her sisters arm.

"We ain't leaving till we find our dad!" she pointed her fist at him, while Lana desperately tried to restrain her.

"Stop it Lynn, why do you want to fight now!" she cried, Lynn`s features softened as she looked back at her little sister. Taylor stood in front of them, he was getting frustrated, Lynn pig headedness was making things more difficult then they needed to be.

"Are you out of your mind? Do that and that wolf will find you all first!" Lynn shot her face back towards Taylor, who looked at her like she was a complete moron.

"And you expect me to let him find dad? she shot back agressively. Taylor narrowed his eyes and gave a dry laugh.

"And just what the hell do you plan to do once you find him? Are you gonna grab a stick and say "Here boy, fetch!"..." he replied in a mocking tone before edging closer to her, until he was practically in her face.

" Why don't you try using that pie brain of yours for once..." his voice was cold and venemous and he pointed his finger at the claw marks on his face "...doesn`t my face clue you in on what that thing is capable of!"

As they locked eyes, Lynn became speechless, her angry expression started cracking up as she took a good look at Taylor`s wounds, the realization of what they were dealing with was starting to hit her. As she gave no response, Taylor looked past her and at Lincoln.

" _There's no point in arguing with this idiotic bimbo, surely the pipsqueak must have more common sense!_ ", without a warning he zoomed past her and Lana and crouched down in front of Lincoln. Lynn tried going after him, but Lana jumped in her way.

"It's alright Lana, I won't fight him..." Lynn reassured her little sister, who smiled lightly in response "...but we can't just sit around, we have to go search for him.", meanwhile Taylor briefly observed the other siblings.

Lincoln was still distraught and lost in his thoughts, while Lucy was still sobbing, Lisa and Luan were also none the better. Taylor momentarily was at a loss for words. Seeing them crying or in shock and Lana trying to calm Lynn behind him, he felt odd, he was actually feeling sorry for them, was it pitty? No, more like...empathy.

Without thinking about it further he snapped his fingers in front of Lincoln`s face, snapping him out of his daze. "Huh?" Lincoln shook his head before Taylor placed his hands on both of Lincoln`s shoulders and forced a smile.

"Linc, buddy, pal, you and your sisters should listen to Lynn, let's not jump to hasty conclusions." Taylor made an attempt to lift their spirits. Lincoln was well aware of the bullies faux affable act, but right now he wasn't in the right state of mind to properly react, allowing Taylor to continue.

"Your dad`s a grown man, he can take care of himself, but we're kids and we have to get out of here, I`m sure both you and her..." he gestured at Luan who looked up at him "...have more common sense than the bimbo over there and will agree with me..." Lynn growled at the remark, but stopped as she saw her brother and older sister look at each other, seemingly pondering.

They both simultaneously realized the full extent of their situation, and despite having to side with the bully over their own sister, the latter was still being more sensible. It was Lincoln who finally spoke "Guys...he`s right, we can't stay here, we have to call for help..." he said weakly.

"That the way to go!" Taylor perked up and got rose to his feet "...now come on, bring out your phones, call the police, 911, anyone..."

"We can't..." Luan interrupted him, with a look of dread on her face. Taylor`s smile falted a bit.

"What do ya mean..."can`t"...?" he blurted out while starring at her, Lincoln also looked at her and to his dismay he remembered something the comedian had told them earlier, Lisa and Lucy likewise ceased any sobbing and payed attention to the conversation, only Lana was left out of it, while next to her Lynn also realized what Luan meant, and soon enough a wave of guilt and shame consumed her.

All thoughts about their fathers went away for the moment as the siblings realized the full extent of the jeopardy they were silence irritated Taylor greatly, "Um hello!" he shouted up.

"What do ya mean we"can`t"...?" he repeated anxiously.

"Our...our phones are dead..." Lincoln finally spoke in a small voice, Taylor starred at him in utter disbelief.

"...dead?" he asked quietly. Lucy sat up and gave him a look with her puffed up eyes.

"Lynn...forgot to... recharge them..." she mumbled meekly, Taylor`s jaw dropped, while Lynn shrank with shame. Taylor looked at her, then back at Lincoln, his face still frozen in shock.

"Your phones are dead?" he asked with total incredulity, "Do you know what that means?", no one answered. They all remained quiet, while Taylor started pulling his hair and yelled in frustration.

"We`re trapped here! Sitting ducks!" he raged before abruptly shooting a vicious glare at Lynn and Lana, the latter flinched and grabbed her big sisters hand as Taylor starred daggers at them and started advancing towards them.

"Well I hope the two of your area fucking happy!" he snarled and pointed at them. Lynn didn't let herself be intimidated and snapped back at him.

"Piss off! I didn't mean...it slipped my mind!"she stumbled with her words.

"Well it's because of your slippery mind that all of us are screwed now!" Taylor yelled and seemed ready to attack her, Lynn jumped back while Lana suddenly jumped between them.

"No Taylor!" she cried, Taylor looked down at her and his eyes narrowed.

"And you..." he addressed her venomously, making her cower. His tone soon turned loud and hostile "...if you didn't go on your godman little adventure, none of this would have happened!"

Lynn instinctively pulled the frightened toddler into a protective embrace, "Leave her alone you jackass!" she snapped at him, but Taylor didn't divert his gaze from Lana.

"If you hadn't gotten yourself lost you little retard, your father wouldn't be missing and we wouldn't be in this fucking mess!"

Lana trembled and her eyes started watering "I...I`m..sorry...I didn't mean..." she sobbed, gargling on her words as she shrank into her sisters hug.

"It doesn't matter if your sorry, cuz you doomed us all to death!" Taylor snapped at her, her siblings all looked in shock while the little tomboy started crying and broke away from Lynn`s embrace, she ran away from them and hid into the nearest tent that she could reach.

Then suddenly Taylor screamed as he felt a painful blow to the head. He hissed in pain and grasped it with both hands, he looked to his right and glared at an extremely pissed off Lynn.

"Don`t...you...EVER yell at her again!" she hissed viciously while her chest was rising up and down. Taylor glared at her with clenched teeth, still clutching his aching head. In the blink of an eye he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards him. Her siblings gasped as Taylor`s fist connected with Lynn`s gut, she got the wind knocked out of her and was tossed to the ground.

"And don't you EVER hit me again!" he coldly growled at her. A frightened Lucy hugged Lisa, Lincoln looked at the scene in shock, but Luan charged at the bully.

"Leave her alone!" she tried to attack the bully, Lincoln ran after her. Taylor saw her coming and backhanded the comedian in her face, she fell back and collided with Lincoln while Lucy screamed upon seeing them landing ontop of each other. Lynn saw the whole thing and her blood started boiling.

While Taylor was distracted, she decked him in the cheek and then punched him in the gut, Taylor stumbled back and Lynn tried to deliver another punch, but Taylor grabbed her fist and twisted it, he once again pulled her towards him and kicked his knee into her stomach. Immediately after, he threw her of and Lynn landed on her butt mere inches away from the van, causing her to bang her head against it.

She grunted in pain and rubbed her head, but before she could react Taylor appeared above her and grabbed her by both of her arms and hoisted her up. He pressed her against the van and stepped on her feet, Lynn struggled to break free, but once again he was too strong for her.

She finally made eye contact and suddenly froze, feeling afraid and submissive when she saw the rage in his eyes, she hadn't seen him this pissed since their fight at the playgrounds, memories of that incident flooded back and the jock trembled, realizing that she made a huge mistake by unleashing that rage again.

"Listen to me and listen good!" Taylor hissed trough his teeth, his red and sweaty face mere inches away from hers.

"I had it with your shit you pathetic bitch and if you even think about hitting me one more time, I`ll feed you to the wolf myself! AM I CLEAR!", Lynn cringed as his spit hit her face, she felt her body trembling as his cold, vicious stare pierced into her. Sweating and panting from fear, she slowly nodded, the enraged Taylor kept her pinned against the van until suddenly, he calmed down and let her go.

She plopped back down on her butt and saw him glaring down at her, without another word Taylor turned to his side and started walking away. Panting, Lynn saw him walking past Lincoln, who was helping Luan up, they both moved out of his way while Lucy ducked behind them, pulling Lisa along with her. Taylor didn't even acknowledge their presence and kept on walking.

The athlete finally regained her courage and angrily shouted after him "Where are you going!"

Taylor didn't bother turning "Away from here, if I'm gonna die, I ain't dying next to you freaks." he replied coldly. Lynn growled and tried to go after him, but once she stood up she felt her stomach cramping up and kneeled down.

"Lynn are you alright?" she heard Lincoln`s worried voice as he and Luan helped the jock to get up.

"Just peachy, are you guys okay?" she replied.

"A little roughed up, but otherwise fine." Luan told her.

Lynn looked into the distance and saw Taylor sitting down on the sandy beach, his expression didn't look angry anymore, but simply bitter and depressed as he was slouching down.

The rest of the siblings, minus Lana, assembled around Lynn when an ominous sound suddenly punctuated trough the silence, almost like a sinister signal for their inescapable fate.

A long, drawn out howl from far away reached their ears, sending shivers down their spines, Lucy and Lisa both hugged their older siblings in terror, while they too instinctively went into a group hug.

" _What are we going to do?_ " a distressed Lincoln thought...

...

Meanwhile at Taylor`s abandoned camp, three coyotes were rummaging trough it, looking for food. They all pulled and growled and fought over his backpack, hoping they would dig up an easy snack from it. As they barked and snarled at each other, they failed to notice something larger emerging from the bushes.

A loud growl soon caught their attention and the wolf snapped his jaws at them, barely missing any of them, the coyotes quickly bolted away in all directions while yelping and whimpering. Scanning the bag with his one eye the wolf sniffed it over, but smelt nothing edible. The place was laced with a familiar scent, but the human was long gone, a sudden ringing startled the canine and he bared his teeth and grabbed the backpack, shaking it violently till it spilled out its content. His sensitive ears soon led him to the dropped phone.

It's dial pad showed the number of Taylor`s mother, the wolf, still startled and irritated by the ringing, growled at it before lifting it in it's jaws and crushing it into silence. After the noise ceased the wolf started sniffing trough the camp, until a gust of wind blew towards him, bringing the faint, yet recognizable scent of the wounded human, and something else. The human had moved to another location, one the animal was already familiar with...

 **Well things aren't looking bright for the siblings, a little forgetfulness and a 5 year olds callous desire to explore wound up resulting in dire consequences. And at last we have reached the main point of the story, the siblings are left alone, isolated and stranded in the wilderness, stuck with an enemy of theirs and a wild animal, that could return at any moment, lurking in the forest. It's a real life horror story.**

 **Will they make it trough this ordeal? Things certainly aren't in their favor right now, they have no means to call for help or to defend themselves, and once a wolf sets it's sights to catch their prey they don't give up this family be cut down even further?**

 **Unfortunately I will be busy for the following few weeks, so I'm not sure when I`ll be able to post again, the next chapter might be much shorter. Till next time...**


	7. Hard Choices, No Time to Act

**It took me 3 weeks, but I'm finally back with this story...**

Silence had once again transcended on the shores of the lake. Any sounds of arguing or fighting or even talk have ceased, within the camp that the siblings had been staying at there was only an atmosphere of grief, sadness and deathly silence.

What had happened after they heard that howl? Lincoln wasn't too sure, as his memory wasn't so vivid. The combined wave of grief, shock and fear that had consumed him when he and his sisters were first faced with the revelation that their father had gone missing and that they were trapped on this lake, with no means of communication and at the mercy of a wild animal that could attack them at any moment, had made everything seem blurry. To everyone, besides Lana, the implications for their fathers absence became clear and to the children they were nothing short of heart wrenching and sole crushing.

The flood of unpleasant emotions that had engulfed him had dulled his external senses greatly, feeling numb and stunned Lincoln only vaguely recalled how each of his sisters had reacted to the situation. Lana hadn't left the tent ever since, her cries of grief and anguish were very audible, and understandeble as Taylor had bluntly pinned the blame for their fathers disappearance on her, and she believed it. Trying to pull together what rational thought he could, Lincoln had no clue on how to comfort her after she had indirectly caused this predicament. Lincoln understood Lana`s agony, how could someone deal with this kind of bagage, especially a 5 year old, this event might as well scar the formerly happy-go-lucky girl for good. Lincoln didn't blame her of course, she was just a toddler wanting to explore her surroundings, it was only trough a seriously sick and unfair twist of fate that a litte kids callousness could have such drastic consequences.

Lynn was in a similar situation, she was the one whose little bout of forgetfulness had resulted in them having no means to call for help. Lynn knew that, she didn't try defending herself, but she did react the only way she knew how, aggressively shunning away everyone who tried to talk to her, crying at them to leave her alone and hid into the van, to grieve and deal with the anguish that was tearing trough her. Again the boy thought that it was a cruel and unjust stringing of fate to have such a seemingly minor mess up result in such major problems.

Lincoln couldn`t recall much more, Lisa was crying, Luan looked like she was about to collapse from anxiety and at some point both of them retreated into whatever tent they did. Taylor had also disappeared from sight, having apparently wandered of even further, not that Lincoln really cared about it. Lincoln was left alone, with Lucy embracing him, her head snuggled into his chest, at some point her sobbing had stopped, almost like her otherwise rarely used tear sacks weren't prepared for this kind of task and had dried out. The scene was nothing if not an image of fear, disorganization and grief, emphasizing the plight and horror the kids felt knowing that their father might never return.

Lincoln and Lucy were sitting on the beach, the boy was starring at his distraught reflection in the water, something he had been doing for a while now. His father, his dad, the only other man in his family, he couldn't possibly be gone. It just seemed so unreal, like a twisted dream, just a few hours ago they were still on their camping trip, enjoying themselves, fooling around, Luan pranking Lynn...but then they were here, crying, wallowing in despair, grieving about their father.

What would they do now? How would they break this to their mother or to the rest of sisters. Lincoln felt a burning anguish tearing trough his mind, still keeping the deathly quiet Lucy in his arms, he once again gazed down at his reflection. He saw another tear slowly sliding down his cheek until it hit the water, creating ripples that distorted the boys image.

The faint sound of thunder diverted his attention, looking towards the distant mountains, Lincoln saw a cluster of dark clouds forming on the horizon. This also made him realize how the wind had slowly, but noticeably picked up speed and the once crystal clear sky was starting to display more and more clouds. Bad weather was coming, but to Lincoln this barely meant anything anymore, he was too numb and striken with grief to care.

His face was starting to twist with anger and bitterness, the world wasn't fare, first half of his family leaves them and now their father may never return for good.

Little Lucy shared the same thoughts, she was already experienced and jadded with lots of previous sorrow, unjustice and disappointment, but this here was a whole new level of pain. Her father was dead, taken away by the same monster that nearly took her own and Lana`s life. She was convinced that she was cursed, the same curse that made her the freak she was, that made her schoolmates treat her like she was a monster, that made her mother leave them and now took away her father in the most horrible way possible. With fresh, new tears forming she sobbed and clung on to the only person that truly mattered to her now.

"Please don't leave me Lincoln..." she blurted out in a muffled voice "...I...I...c...ant..loos... you too..." . His face softened and Lincoln gently rested his head over Lucy, not wanting to let go of her, like something would snatch her away at any moment.

" _Terrible analogy there, you idiot..."_ he scolded himself inwardly.

"I won't..." he said hoarsely "...I promise youn that.", his words didn't sooth the 7 year old, who Lincoln felt trembling.

"How can you say that? When you know that we all could die at any moment?" Lucy said bitterly, the boy hesitated to reply.

"Because I`ll protect you, we`ll all be having each others back..."

"And why would that mean anything? Dad`s dead and that monster will go after us..."

"Lucy please don't say it like that, there's still a chance...", suddenly Lucy tore herself out of their hug and glared at her brother, her eyes red and her face dripping with tears.

"You`re wrong! Why Lincoln? Why are you lying to me too? Just to make me feel better?" her tone was raised, but her voice was filled with hurt. She blinked tearfully at her brother.

"And for what? Just so I can have some shred of hope before I die. Or worse, until I see you being dragged away by that monster...", more tears escaped her eyes and she shuddered at the image of her screaming, battered brother being dragged of by the wolf .

Lucy nearly fainted from the stress, but backed away when Lincoln tried to reach her. Lincoln sighed.

"Lucy, do you need to rest?" he asked her worriedly. She shook her head.

"Why? So I can sleep trough my death, no thank you." he answered with a tad of solemn sarcasm.

"Lucy that's enough, now listen to me." he said sternly and pushed himself closer to his sister. He placed an arm around her and looked her in the eye with understanding.

"Lucy, you should know that I wouldn`t lie or talk down to you. I know you're very smart for your age, you`re more sensible than most of our siblings and I respect you for that. You have every right ro be convinced in what you are. But you have to understand..." Lincoln stopped as he wiped away one of Lucy`s tears with his finger.

"Understand what?" she asked meekly. Lincoln stayed solemn and quiet for a bit.

" It is possible that...(sigh)...you know what I'm talking about, but until we find concrete evidence for it we can't just write it of like that. Dad has been missing and things aren't looking good, you understand that..." Lincoln stopped again in order to wipe away a tear from his own eye.

"...but we don't know for sure. Maybe he did encounter the wolf, but he could have escaped up a tree or maybe he`s hidding in cave and he can't leave because of the wolf, there are many possibilities and we have to give them all the benefit of the doubt until we learn for sure..."

Lincoln wasn't sure what his main reason behind that speech was, was he just in denial now? Or was he being blindingly hopeful? Was he truly trying to be rational and opened minded or was he indeed just making a noble lie in order to lift Lucy`s spirit? Maybe it was a bit of all of them?

"I want to believe you..." Lucy spoke solemnly "...but I just can't.", her eyes were watering and she bit her lip.

"I understand that, but we need that hope now if we want to make it out of this?" Lincoln told her reassuringly.

"That still sounds like a lie to me..." Lucy muttered, Lincoln sighed, seeing that she was, in a way, right.

"That is one way to see it I guess, the line between hope and denial is very thin and blurry..." he admitted before looking at Lucy.

"But sometimes that`s the only way to give people the hope they need to achieve a greater good."

"A greater good?" Lucy was confused, she saw Lincoln`s expression, it was seriously, hardened. The boy knew that it was time for a difficult decision.

"Yes Lucy, as much as it may hurt, we have to forget about dad for now. Crying won't do us any good, we have to pull ourselves together and act, we have to get out of here." he told her firmly, Lincoln knew their safety was on borrowed time now. He was determined to try anything in his power to make sure that he and his sisters would never even meet the wolf, but unfortunately he could think of one feasible plan.

Lucy knew that her sisters, especially Lynn, were gunhoed on waiting for their father to return, but Lincoln was right, the time for that had run out. She still had 5 siblings who were here and alive, but for how much longer? They were family, they promised to always look out for each other, to assure that the others were safe, which included stopping them from making rash or harmful decisions.

"You`re right Lincoln..." she suddenly hugged him "...thank you for always staying smart when everyone else panics." she said affectionately. Lincoln felt a bit flattered, but pushed the thought back. No time to praise himself now.

"So what do you think we should do?" the goth asked straightforwardly.

"Okay Lucy we need to get everyone together on this and fast..." he instructed her before looking towards the sky "...not only is that wolf roaming about, but the weather is going to make a nasty turn, we need to act quickly.", Lucy understood the urgency, but one vital question was still hanging over her head.

"But how are we going to get out of here? We don't know how to drive, we can't just walk trough the trail where we came from on foot, because..."

"The raft! Lynn`s raft." Lincoln revealed.

"Lynn`s raft? How will we all fit in there?" the goth asked worriedly. They both looked towards the raft, which was parked on the beach, not far from the van.

"It quite big, though the conditions might be cramped, but it will have to do.", Lincoln turned back to the goth.

"And this is my plan, Lana and Taylor said how they were sweeped away by a river, which in turn flooded into the lake. So I figure we could paddle our way up that river, out of reach of any animals and... hopefully that river will lead us out of the forest or at least it might help us come across someone, other people, who can help us."

After hearing her brother out, Lucy nodded underlying "Okay you talk with Lynn, you're the only one can bring some sense into her, I`ll get the others.", Lincoln nodded back with a small, hopeful smile forming on his lips.

"Lynn`s going to be stubborn as usual, but hopefully she'll listen to me. But frankly I`m more concerned about getting her out of wallowing in self-pity, as she's probably doing now, than...", a crack of thunder once again diverted their attention towards the mountains, where they saw the cluster of clouds growing bigger and bigger.

"Come on, we don't have much time..." Lincoln urged his sister, but she suddenly pointed up.

"Look at that!" she exclaimed and Lincoln looked up to see a few black birds circling above them. These weren`t eagles, like the one he saw before, but turkey vultures. He was no animal expert, but Lincoln knew that the presence of these carrion feeders was an ominous sign, that death would soon come to this beach.

"Those are vultures, the messengers of death, the reapers of the deceased..." Lucy spoke, her voice had a strange mixture of fear and morbid awe "...when they come, it signals that the place of their arrival will be someone's toomb.", she grabbed her brothers hand, who meanwhile had his eyes locked on one vulture who was perched on a nearby tree, starring at them. The presence of these birds felt almost taunting to Lincoln and he felt his anger rising. He grabbed a rock.

"I know what they are Lucy, but I don't know why they're here..." his voice rose with frustration "...cuz there ain't any dead people here yet...and there won't be!" he threw the rock at the bird, but missed by a mile. The vulture`s gaze briefly followed the rock before looking back at the kids.

Although the bird retained it's blank expression, to the boy it felt like it was mocking him for his poor aim. The frustrated Lincoln stomped the ground and quickly led Lucy away as more vultures started perching around them.

...

Elsewhere, the beach sported a barefooted trackway, left by Taylor. He was wandering aimlessly, no destination, no goal in mind, he was just walking, not looking back or to his sides, just walking ahead and kicking away any driftwood that was in his path. His wounds still stung, especially the one in his thigh and he realized that those wounds might get infected or he may have even caught some disease, like rabies, from that wolf. How long would it take for the symptoms to show up?

Taylor snorted " _What a_ s _tupid question, it's not like I`ll get the time to even feel that, I`m doomed to be torn apart in no time, so why even bother?_ ", he abruptly stopped and turned to his left after hearing some rustling, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of a raccoons striped tail.

Taylor groaned with frustration, " _Great, not only am I going to die, but nature is going to toy around with my bloody nerves, why won't that fucking wolf just come already and get this over with! How hard can it be for that flee bitten cur to track an unwashed, sweaty and bloodied kid limping around in plain sight on the beach!_ "

The boy became bit unnerved at what he was thinking, he was wishing for death now, but then his face wouldn't he wish for that? He was going to die anyway, the best possible outcome right now would be for his misery to end as quickly as possible, instead of being slow, agonizing and drawn out like if he was sitting in a dentists waiting room.

Abruptly Taylor made a small, morbid laugh, the dentist or the hospital used to give him frights? They seemed insignificant compared to what was in store for him now. But that brief moment of levity ended once he remembered what there was in store for him. Feeling sick Taylor imagined being attacked by the wolf and, subconsciously, his hand moved and held into his neck, that would be where the wolf would strike to finish him, clamp his huge, fang filled maw around his throat and shake it violently until he tore it out, or maybe clamp them tight until the boy lost all oxygen to his brain. Taylor shuddered, nearly throwing up, that was going to happen to him no matter what. He kept walking until he stumbled across a small grove which was carved inland, into the lakes shore and was surrounded by trees and several large boulders, to the boy the place looked like a little oasis and he decided that this would be as good as place any to rest and await the inevitable.

Once he had arrived there, he moved towards the water and bent down to look at his reflection, to get one final look at himself. There he was, as ugly and unkept as usual, and now with the addition of those claw marks that were edged across his cheek. Taylor sighed, this would be it, the end of the road, possibly the last look he would get at himself. He sat down and and slouched, he remembered, once again, what Lynn had told him this morning, how ironic, he never would have guessed that this would be his eulogy.

" _And this is where it ends, I`ll die all alone and nobody will care about it, hell most kids will probably celebrate about it_..."

He imagined the kids holding a big party, with a big banner announcing his demise and kids shouting stuff like "No more Taylor" and "The douche is dog food". Taylor let out a subdued growl, but remained calm.

"... _and my family? They probably won't care much either, maybe they`ll be bumed out for a bit, but they`ll get over it, it's not like they would think about losing me with the same severity as losing Rene or Roy, at least I hope they`ll take care of Marceline, but then again she`s a tough and durable feline, she can take care of herself...oh and Lyle? Wherever he might be now, that idiot will probably be dancing with joy, nothing he could have done to me or the Louds could have possibly compared to what`s going to happen to us. Guess juvie or not, he`ll have the last laugh, it's not fair, but when was the world ever fair?_ "

Taylor sighed and his mind drifted to the last people, or more specifically person who had any impact on his life as of late.

"... _and Lynn, pity that I didn't get to know her better, I really wanted to, but I guess there was just too much bad blood, so we could only part the way we meet, with our fists, kind of poetic...in a very sad and stupid way. Shame that she and her family are going to get their lives cut short as well, I hate to admit it, but for a bunch of freaks it was kind of admirable how they stuck together no matter what, maybe they were somewhat better than most people in this damn hellhole of a world? Maybe Lynn was worthy of more respect than I was willing to give her? Guess I'll never know for sure_."

He paused, thought things over again and like a crumbling wall his ego finally broke down, " _Who am I kidding, I fucked everything up like an idiot_."

With nothing to lose anymore, with no need to keep a facade of aloofness and indifference, Taylor managed to let go of any stubborn pride he had left and looked at his actions the way they were. He had been unfair to Lynn, no that was an understatement, he was an asshole to her and her family, he was a bully and had repeatedly let out his own frustration on other people and used all his wit or manipulation to twist things in his favor, and this was no different, there was a fine line between teasing and bullying and he already it crossed on their first encounter. He remembered their first fight and deeply regret it, but he couldn't change that now, he couldn't change any of his past actions.

" _Why do I keep doing this! Why can't I stop_..." he lameted mentally while grabbing his hair, seeing himself for the way he was, it wasn't even like he was ever truly unaware of his misdeeds, he simply blocked it out of his mind and pretended like whatever crap he came up with to defend himself was true, it was simply easier than confronting reality.

Taylor suddenly felt oddly at peace now, in hindsight his life was pretty meaningless, he was a miserable fuck up who never did anything of value, maybe, after all of he had done he deserved what was coming to him, maybe it was for the better. Against his will, a tear escaped his eye, but then, suddenly, a screech shifted his attention towards the sky. Taylor saw a flock of vultures flying in the distance, his eyes slowly moved downwards until he saw a black figure walking along the beach bellow the flock, maybe 100 yards away from him, it was the wolf.

Taylor froze and gazed at the animal, the wind was blowing towards him and the wolf was unaware of his presence, perhaps the trees and boulders were helping to obscure him from the wolfs view. Taylor felt tense, he was afraid and didn't move, the thought crossed his mind to simply yell and reveal himself, to just get it over with, but he couldn't find the courage to do it. The wolf appeared near the entrance to the grove, he was only about 40 yards away from Taylor, only because of the direction of the ever increasing wind did he fail to pick up the boys sent. Taylor , knowing he was upwind, instinctively started stepping backwards, further behind the cluster of trees, when, all of a sudden, the wolf moved onwards.

Taylor couldn't believe his eyes, the wolf just missed him, feeling a confusing mixture of relief and frustration Taylor broke out of his hidding place and followed after the wolf. Once he was back on the beach, he saw that the wolf was far gone, the beasts tracks going into the opposite direction of his own. Taylor looked up and made out the wolfs tiny figure in the distance, the speed of his gait increasing until he was running. Taylor soon realized where the animal was aiming to go.

" _The camp_...", Taylor thought, confused and conflicted on what to do now. Go and try to warn the Louds?

" _No. What good would that bring? I would just be throwing myself into the massacre!_ " he told himself while watching the wolf disappear. Wait? He had, by some miracle, stumbled across a golden opportunity, the wolf missed him and was going after the Louds, this could be his chance to save himself.

" _I have a chance...to survive?_ ", with a glimmer of hope growing within the bitter and pessimistic boy he turned and tried moving into the opposite direction, but he suddenly stopped to a holt. Taylor looked back, a storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions crossing trough him. He was letting those guys die to save himself, that didn't feel right? But should he care about it? Life was never fair and what could he possibly do to help them? He would just get himself killed.

" _Don`t be an idiot Ryan, there's nothing you can do, it's hopeless, there's no point in you dying for a futile cause, just save yourself and don't look back, they brought this on themselves, you owe them nothin_ g..." he aggressively commanded himself and pushed onwards, his face determined and steely. But it soon crumbled and Taylor caved in.

" _Oh who am I kidding, I don't deserve this chance and what`s the point of saving my worthless life? Who would care about it and why should even I?_ ", feeling defeated he looked back in the direction the wolf went.

Taylor sighed with dread " _You can still do something right, better once than never_..."

...

"Good luck Lincoln, you know how difficult she is when she's upset.." Lucy told her brother before going to assemble the others. Lincoln gave her a nod and went towards the van, trying to ignore the pesky buzzards that were eyeing him. Little did he know that these weren't early birds, as most of them had already noticed a figure stealthy moving trough the bushes and conifer trees.

With a deep sigh, Lincoln moved the door of the van and entered it. He immediately found his sister in the far back seat, as he expected she looked forlorn, drained of all life, not a spark of energy visible in the usual lively athlete, she merely gave him a brief, miserable glance before looking down again. Lincoln slowly walked towards her.

"Eh..hey Lynn." he started softly.

"What is it Lincoln..." she answered monotonously, with no anger or anxiety, just with no sort of energy.

" _Well she isn't telling me to go away, I guess that's a good start_..." Lincoln thought dejectedly and without another word, he sat down next to her. She remained quiet and kept slouching against the window, avoiding eye contact with her brother.

"Lynn, do you want to talk?" he started.

"What`s there to talk..." she replied emotionlessly "...I know that I messed up, we're all in danger because of me...and...dad..." she didn't finish as she sniffed and wiped of a small tear from her eye. Lincoln felt his heart shattering, against all his willpower he simply couldn't not think about his father, but he had to be strong.

"Lynn, we still don't know what happened, maybe..." he stopped when Lynn suddenly looked at him, her face filled with grief and despair.

"Please Lincoln, don't try denying it now..." she said weakly, her voice cracking "...I did it and it only made it hurt more once I started thinking clearly, these things can't be coincidences, wolf shows up, dad goes missing..." try as she might, Lynn couldn't restrain herself from sobbing any longer. Her brother started shedding tears as well, once again facing the grim reality.

Without any more words, the siblings embraced each other for comfort, Lynn was breaking down and sobbed on Lincoln`s shoulder.

"Lynn, please don't blame this on yourself, you did nothing wrong, you just forgot to recharge some phones, this should not have been a major problem at all, but.."

"But it did.." she sobbed "...and if I had just let Lana come along, none of it would have happened at all...", she whimpered into his shoulder and Lincoln petted her on the back calmingly.

"Look, none us could have predicted that this would happen, none of us could have expeted a damn wolf showing up, none of us could have known any better and the matter is that thing would have showed up here no matter what..." Lincoln let out a long sigh.

"And it did show up last night, it was stalking us from the get go and you know how Lucy had two close run ins with it...and yet by some miracle, it left her alone. ", a small smile crept on his face, if briefly, for the fact that his little sister was spared of the horrible fate that she was, in hindsight, so close to.

Lynn stopped crying and remembered "She...she...tried to warn us, but...we"...Lynn cringed, feeling even more guilt piling up inside her councense "...but we ignored her."

"We did..." Lincoln admitted solemnly "...as much as we tried not to, we ignored her again and we finally payed the consequences for it.", Lynn let go of her brother and looked at him bitterly.

"And how is that supposed to make me feel any better, it just made me remember what a lousy sister I always was."

...

Unberknownst to either of them, they were being watched. The wolf stood not far from the van, concealed by the thicket of the forest, staying absolutely still and scanning his surroundings. He detected two voices from the metal contraption.

" _Lynn, for the last time, you're a good sister, you may have your faults, we all do, but that doesn't make you a bad person_..."

They were in the back of it, crouching down the wolf moved foward trough the bushes, silently sneaking trough, until he was moving parallel to the van.

" _And you say that after me being nothing but a selfish, inconsiderate bully for years_..."

Keenly aware of the humans positions, the animal crept towards the back of the van, making sure that no one was seeing him. There were no more humans in sight, but their odor told him they were within their shelters. Now the only matter was were to strike.

...

"Is that what you want to hear? Okay then." an irritated Lincoln said. Lynn tried to hide the hurt she was feeling. Wasn't this what she wanted to hear? But it was still crushing to hear it.

"You were certainly that, key word being "were", but you've change since then, we all did and for the better. Would a bad sister spend so much time mopping and being self-aware of being one?"

Lynn didn't answer and Lincoln smirked softly, "No, she wouldn't, if anything you're becoming too worried about being anything less but the opposite."

"Alright, are you trying to make me feel better or worse..." she asked annoyingly, but soon grew solemn again "...but you don't get it, it's one if I changed, but I can't just forget about all the years were I have treated you guys badly, it still hurts knowing that..."

"I understand that..." Lincoln said gently "...we all wish we could just wipe away our past mistakes, the girls and me too. You guys may have acted out of control, but I was no better by being a spineless doormat who didn't have any guts to stand up to his own sisters. In the end our actions ended up ruining our parents marriage and we`ve been paying the price for it ever since, crummy new home, bullies, but..."

"But what?" Lynn asked meekly.

"But you know how the old saying goes, the benefit from making mistakes is that you'll finally learn to do better. And we did learn, a lot. We learned to face our fault, to have better communication with each other, to make compromises for each others sake, to support and hear each other out about our problems and to give dad the respect he always deserved. We may have lost a lot recently, but we have also been closer and more stable as a family than ever before."

Lynn finally smiled a little at her brothers speech, but it soon dropped once he had brought their father into the discussion.

"But what about dad? How in the world will this help us learn anything?" she asked him, tears forming, "If this is supposed to be some kind of...more karma, how does it make any sense? He didn't deserve it!", tears poured down her face as they did on Lincoln`s, who looked away for a moment.

Lynn wrapped her arm around him and he looked back at her, "No he didn't..." the boy sniffed " but that's why I came to you. If you lose something dear to you, you need to save whatever you have left."

Lynn quickly understood "The others? We have to get out of here.", Lincoln nodded and Lynn grew a determined look.

"So do you have a plan? That was always your specialty."

...

Lincoln was explaining his idea to Lynn, neither of them noticing the wolf quietly placing his front paws on the trunk of the van and rearing up on his back legs, watching them trough the back window. They were completely oblivious to his presence, as if they were blind, deaf and had no sense of smell, they were such easy targets, but there was one problem. He couldn't find any way to reach them, they had concealed themselves into this metalic, moveable shelter, now the predator had assessed the situation and his mind was clear.

...

Lucy, meanwhile had rushed into the tent that she had been sharing with Lisa and Luan, she found the oldest of the siblings, sitting and looking over Lana, who was hidding beneath a blanket.

"Leave me alone!", Lucy heard Lana`s muffled and barely audible cry. Luan looked dejected and ready to give up, her head hung low and her eyes were teary. Lucy approached her, the goth could deduce what was going on and quickly cut to the chase.

"Guys, you have to come with me." she said urgently, only to hear the teen groan.

"Not now Lucy, can't you see I have enough on my plate already..." Luan grumbled frustratingly.

"But Luan, this is important!" Lucy argued.

"And can't you see that I'm trying to convince her that she didn't freaking kill her own father!" the comedian snapped, immediately regretting her reaction upon seeing the goths shocked expression. But before she could apologize, Lucy`s face hardened.

"Well obviously you aren't very good at it, let me try." she pushed past the teen and kneeled in front of Lana. Luan was surprised by her reaction, but still felt awful about letting her frustration get the better of her.

"Lucy, I`m sorry about yelling at you." she said sadly.

"Nevermind..." the goth replied indifferently, the truth was that she wasn't too upset about being yelled at, she simply needed to get everyone together as fast as possible, and obviously Lana needed more convincing than anyone. Sighig, Luan looked at her sister.

"Lucy, please try to be gentle, she`s very upset and..."

"I know..." Lucy replied calmly as she gently shook the tomboy "...Lana, please get up."

"Go away. Leave me alone..." she heard the toddlers muffled voice beneath the blanket, her garbled tone betraying the fact that she had been crying excessively. Without warning, Lucy grabbed the blanket and tried to pull it of Lana, who in turn held on to it, but the older sister eventually managed to pry it off her. Lana quickly shielded her face and continued sobbing.

"Please...leave...me...be..." she said desperately between sobs, ignoring her wishes Lucy crawled down and lied next to her.

"Lana, please look at me..." she said compassionately. The little blonde slowly peaked trough her arms with her bloodshot eyes. Lucy edged closer to her and extended her arms, with some hesitation, Lana accepted the gesture and hugged her sister.

...

"Okay Linc I`m all for it, if it means getting all of you to safety I`ll do anything that's necessary."

"That`s good, the only problem is that I don't know where that river will lead us exactly..." Lincoln deflated a bit, knowing the uncertainties surrounding his rescue operation.

"We don't have a choice, sometimes you just have to take chances Linc, it's better than doing nothing..." Lynn placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Like with any sport I played, sometimes the only way to get things done is not to think, but act. And if that wolf or any other mangy animal tries anything, I`ll make sure that they'll regret it." she finished sternly. Her brother went wide eyed.

"Don`t think about doing anything stupid Lynn. This isn`t a game or a fight with some random bully, this is a wild animal and if you tangle with one you won't get the chance for a rematch." he warned her.

"I know that, but if it comes to it I won't hold back if it means protecting you guys, I`m your big sister and that's my duty. You can't change my mind on that." she stated firmly.

"Well don't worry, cuz we won't be meeting that wolf, I promise you that." Lincoln reassured her. Little did he know that this promise had been broken before it was even made.

...

While Lana kept sniffing, Lucy remained quiet before finally speaking.

"Do you feel better now?", in hindsight the goth knew this to be a dumb question, but it felt like the most appropriate way to start.

"No..." Lana sobbed softly "...I ruined everything, I`m so, so sorry...I know you all hate me now", she felt Luan`s hand being placed comfortably on her.

"Lana, I already told you that no one blames you for anything..." the teen said gently "...you did nothing wrong."

"She`s right, you were just exploring, you had no ill intentions..." Lucy chimed in, but her demeanor quickly became more gloom"...fate sometimes throws you bad luck, a cruel twist, and there's no way you could have known what would happen. But we will always love you no matter what." , Lana sniffed sadly and didn't let go of her sister.

"But Taylor said..."

"Oh screw Taylor!" Luan exclaimed two younger sisters sat up in surprise.

"What does that idiot known, he was just being a prick as usual and pointed fingers at others, he was just sore about his ego getting cut down a peg after someone more powerful got the better of him. He was just pissed because he got what was coming to him", the comedian crossed her arms bitterly while Lana went wide eyed and gasped.

"But Luan? He...he was attacked by wolf! How can you say that?"

Luan shrank back a bit, realizing that Lana was right. Even though she felt nothing but contempt for the bully, it still wasn't right to wish something as horrible as a mauling to anyone, not even the worst of people like him or Kathleen.

"I know, I`m sorry..." Luan admitted begrudgingly "...but my point is that you shouldn't listen to any of the crap that jerk said, he was just angry and he had no right to yell at you like he did.", Lana blinked, unsure what to say next.

"But what about dad? He still hasn't come back and...", hearing Lana talk made Lucy remember Lincoln`s words from earlier. She knew what she had to do and reluctantly did so.

"Yes he`s still missing and we're all worried, but there's no reason to think that he's...you know." Lucy swallowed a huge lump having to say that, something she perceived as nothing but a comforting lie. Nevertheless, she continued.

"We don't know for sure. Maybe he did encounter the wolf, but he could have escaped up a tree or maybe he`s hidding in cave and he can't leave because of the wolf, there are many possibilities and we just don't know."

"So you mean dad might still be alright?" Lana asked hopefully, with a heavy heart Lucy nodded. Luan, feeling a bit puzzled by the goths sudden optimism was about to interject, but stopped when Lucy spoke up.

"Yes, very much, but we can't stay here waiting for him anymore. It's too dangerous with that wolf out there and Lincoln said we have to leave this place immediately."

Luan remained quiet, but it all suddenly made sense to her and she noted the apparent pain that her gothic sister had exhibited saying what she said, but it now became clear why, and as hard as it was for her, Lincoln`s demand made complete sense, they had to save themselves somehow, it was her duty to be the responsible one and it became apparent that staying here was practically suicidal. She quickly voiced her agreement.

"Lincoln`s right, we need to move, but how?"

"Lincoln says that we have to use the raft to go up the river to find help, it's the only safe way." Lucy explained, avoiding to look at Lana who was growing a hopeful smile in regards to their fathers well being.

"The raft? Kay, it might be a bit of a cramped cruise, but I suppose it will work. Okay, what are we waiting for let's go.", Luan and Lucy were ready to go, but Lana stopped them.

"Wait?" she waived her arms for attention, her sisters stopped and looked at her.

"What if dad comes back any moment now and we`re all gone? Won't he be worried sick about us?", Luan and Lucy exchanged grim glances, before the teen lifted her hand up, signaling to Lucy that she`ll be handling this. Forcing a smile, she looked at the tomboy.

"Yes he will, but we can't wait for him any longer..." seeing Lana`s worried expression Luan sighed inwardly and continued "...but don't worry, he`s an adult and they can take care of themselves, once he comes back he`ll take the van and get out of here, while we go on the river to do the same and find help."

Lana`s face slowly brightened up "And then we`ll all get back together, right?"

Her sisters silence made her smile falter, "Well, won't we?" she asked naively.

"Of course we will..." Luan said awkwardly "...it will be one happy reunion.", she cursed at herself inwardly for saying that.

Lana perked up,"Okay, if that's so I won't disobey you again, let's go."

" _Finally_." Lucy thought with bittersweet satisfaction and was ready to go, but then Lana stopped them again.

"Wait? What about Taylor?" she suddenly asked.

"What about him?" Luan asked flatly, her brow falling into a scowl.

"Well, won't he come with us?" Lana asked naively. Luan sighed in irritation, why was Lana still worried about that guy.

"Lana, Taylor ran away, after you ran into this tent him and Lynn had a big fight, and then he ran of, saying he wanted nothing to do with us. I`m sorry, but we have no time to look for him now... _not that any of us even care to._ " Luan mentally added.

"But we can't leave him here, the wolf will get him." the little blonde argued with deep concern. Lucy watched them quietly while they all failed to notice a shadow moving past them.

"Sorry Lana, but that's final, now come on. We have to get Lisa and Lynn and go." Luan said sternly and took Lana`s hand, the 5 year old realized from her sisters tone that she wasn't changing her mind and so Lana pouted and looked down. Lucy saw the teen leading Lana towards her and she too turned around, only to holt in her tracks. A mere second latter Luan and Lana did the same.

They all froze in place, wide eyed and agape, but none more so than Lucy, who felt shivers run trough her stiff body as she came face to face with the monster from her nightmare, only now she saw him in full detail.

The head of the wolf was peaking trough the flap of the tent, his one yellow eye focused on the girls, the animal had no other readeble emotion on his face while he slowly crept foward, do to his large size he was barely half way into the tent before he had the girls completely cornered.

Sweating bullets and her heart beating a mile a minute, the petrified Luan saw that Lucy was in front of her, frozen with fear while locking eyes with the canine. Without a thought Luan grabbed Lucy by her arm and pulled her back. Before anyone could react the wolf lunged foward and Lucy let out a bloodcurdling scream as the beasts jaws grabbed her around the waist and pulled her foward.

Within the van, the scream made both Lincoln and Lynn jolt in surprise, both recognizing whose scream it was.

"Nooooo!" Luan schrieked in horror while trying to pull her sister back, but the wolf effortlessly dragged her foward as well. Lana screamed, while Luan scrambled to her feet and tried to pull Lucy free, but her head hit a pole and the tent suddenly collapsed. Luan and Lana got buried under it, and the latter, to her horror, felt Lucy`s arm slipping out of her grasp.

From within the van, Lynn and Lincoln had little time to register what had happened, they saw the tent collapsing and the following image would be burned into their minds forever.

The large, dark colored wolf was starring back at them, and hanging from his mouth by her waist, like a slab of meat, kicking, squirming, screaming and crying, was Lucy...

 **Creative blocks are always a pain, that's why this took longer to post than it should have and I'm not sure if I'm happy with how this chapter turned out, I can only hope that this creative hurdle will be over by the time I write the next chapter.**

 **And what a morbid cliffhanger to end this chapter on, as you can tell no one is going to have any plot armor to keep them out of harms way because they`re children, that much I can say ahead...**


	8. The Attack

**And last we saw of them, the siblings watched their sister Lucy being in one of the most dire situations imaginable for any family, what has fate in store for them now? Warning, this chapter will have some pretty graphic violence.**

" _What am I doing...this is suicide..._ " Taylor lamented as bolted trough the forest, pushing innumerable branches out of the way, which scraped trough his skin, and struggling to move over the various moss covered boulders and sharp and skin cutting dead logs, his bare feet were already bleeding and full of who knows how many splinters.

Part of him was still telling him to turn back, but he stubbornly pressed on, fully aware that he was marching into the face of death.

Sweating bullets and his face becoming as red as a lobster, the panting Taylor finally stopped to find his bearings, he tried to cut trough the forest in order to get ahead of the wolf, but it became more and more apparent that he had no idea where he was heading.

" _Okay, just stay calm, look for familiar objects, you have to be close by now_..." Taylor growled, believing that he had just been meandering aimlessly and got himself lost.

" _Damn...fucking...hell...why does everything in this forest have to look the same!_ " Taylor hissed under his breath and clutched his hair in frustration, desperately he started scanning his surroundings, when something caught his eye.

He saw something snagged in a branch, it wasn't moss or anything natural, as Taylor moved towards it and grabbed it to examine it, he quickly realized that he was holding a dark teal colored piece of fabric.

Taylor looked around and saw that he was standing close to a small clearing, he noticed how there was a small opening in the canopy, revealing the cloudy sky. Carefully, Taylor moved closer to the center of the clearing, but suddenly stopped himself once he saw what was in front of him. He gazed down and his eyes widened in disbelief.

" _Well, I`ll be a monkeys uncle_..." , but before Taylor could make any audible reaction, a sudden scream stole his attention. Taylor turned to the source of the scream, it was a little girl.

" _I`m too late_..." he thought grimly.

...

Lisa had been sleeping alone in one of the tents where she had cried herself to sleep, but a sudden, ear piercing sound jolted her out of her slumber. The little genius pried her bloodshot eyes open, only to awake in a world that nothing but a blur, the groggy toddler was confused and disoriented, still sleepy she failed to fully comprehend the source of the noise.

Lynn and Lincoln, meanwhile, stood frozen in the van, both starring in utter shock and horror at the sight that greeted them from the outside. This image would be burned into their minds forever.

The enormous, black wolf was starring back at them, his one functioning eye glaring at the kids, and hanging from his mouth by her waist, like a slab of meat, kicking, squirming, screaming and crying, was Lucy.

In the blink of an eye, the wolf made a dash towards the forest, Lincoln screamed for his little sister, but as his gaze followed the escaping predator he realized that his older sister was no longer by his side. She was already outside.

Luan gasped for air, as she pulled herself and Lana out of the collapsed tent, just in time to see Lynn jumping at the fleeing wolf.

The beast was exhaustingly fast, even for the experienced athlete, in that brief moment she knew that she only had one shot and jumped. Miraculously, she managed to grab hold of one of his back paws, the wolf lost balance and they both hit the sandy ground hard, Lucy fell free from the beasts jaws and tumbled several feet ahead. She stopped just short of falling into the water, Lucy found herself starring at the sky, she felt that the pain and pressure on her waist was gone, but she remained paralyzed with shock. Lana watched the scene in shock, seeing Lincoln rushing out of the van.

"Hide in the van. Now!" Lana heard Luan ordering her urgently, not even looking at the toddler as she frantically started searching trough the collapsed tent. As soon as she hit the ground, Lynn tried to scramble to her feet, right in front of her the wolf threw himself back on his feet, stretching his legs and before she knew it, the 12 year old got kicked in the face and tumbled back, stunned her and left in a daze.

The wolf briefly looked back to see what attacked him, but his mind was firmly set on his quarry.

"Lucy, get up!" the stunned goth heard her brothers fear filled voice and felt his grasp on her arm. This time Lincoln, in spite of his fear, reacted immediately, his only goal was to get his sister to safety, he desperately tried to pull her back on her feet, but time was not on his side. His worst fear quickly became reality when he saw the wolf charging at them. Once again Lincoln acted on instinct.

Within seconds, Lucy was jolted out of her trance when she felt herself crushed underneath her brothers body, who subsequently screamed in agony, which was only punctuated by the sound of snarling and teeth ripping trough his fully exposed torso. Lucy cried from terror, helpless and incapable of doing anything to stop her brothers mauling.

She suddenly felt Lincoln being pulled of her, followed by a splash. She looked back and saw Lincoln lying in the knee deep water, the wolf was looming over him, his mind seemingly set on the boy now. But the canine yelped when something struck him over the head.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Lucy a saw a crazed looking Luan yielding one of the tents poles, the wolf growled at her and attacked, she swung the pole and landed another hit on the beasts head, but it barely stunned the wolf, who dodged her second attack and lunged at her.

Luan screamed and dropped the pole as fangs tore into the her right arm, the wolf shook it, but quickly let her go. Clutching her bleeding arm, the teen stumbled back and fell, she sat up and saw the wolf moving towards her. The animal growled, as his maw was mere inches away from Luan`s face, when suddenly he yelped in pain and turned his head back.

Luan and Lucy gasped in shock when they saw Lana clinging on to and sinking her teeth into one of the wolfs , the wolf violently shook his legs, quickly throwing the little girl of.

Lana quickly got up and spat out some fur, "Leave them alone you big bully!" she cried at the animal and shook her fist, when suddenly Lucy pulled her back.

"Are you crazy?" the terrified goth yelled at her. Lana protested.

"Let me go! I wanna...",the wolf started moving towards them and the little tomboy felt her blood running cold, she and Lucy stumbled to the ground and hugged each other as the wolfs jaws opened right above them.

The two sisters screamed in fear as the best tried to attack them, but he stopped when Luan stabbed her pole into his side, the wolf barked and snapped his jaws at it.

"Get into the van! Now!" they heard Luan yelling and opened their eyes to see the teen swinging the pole to keep the wolf at bay.

"Listen to her, go!" they heard Lincoln`s strained voice,the wolf instantly turned back his sights on the boy, who struggled to get back on his feet.

"Lincoln..." Lana whimpered as she tried to reach him.

"RUN!NOW!" he yelled at the two angrily before hissing and recoiling with more pain.

"Come on!" Lucy, trying to ignore her pain, pulled the reluctant Lana by the arm and ran towards the van.

Despite the agonizing pain in his back, Lincoln managed to stand up, dizzy and disoriented, he unwillingly stumbled deeper into the water, he managed to see Lana and Lucy running away , but once he turned towards Luan, all he saw was the wolf running at him.

Before he could even react, Lincoln was pounced at and pushed underwater, his bump causing him severe pain as his head hit the ground. He was almost entirely submerged, with water entering his ears and nostrils. He felt something pressing him down and in no time, he screamed, swallowing a massive gulp of water in the process, as the wolf started bitting into his stomach and shaking him trough the water like a ragdoll.

Crying with fury, Luan started beating on the wolf with the pole, but he wouldn't let go of Lincoln, she watched in horror as her brother was getting mauled and the water around him was turning red, desperately she kept hitting the animal to no avail, when suddenly, the wolf let go of Lincoln and let out the loudest and most pain filled yelp she heard from him yet.

Luan saw Lynn holding a burned piece of wood and jabbing it into the wolfs thigh, he snapped his jaws at her and she retreated, revealing the fire sharpened and now bloody tip of her weapon.

They both stepped away from the animal and caught a glimpse of their brothers limp form floating in the crimson stained water, Lynn`s face contorted with hatred as she looked back at the wolf, who licked the wound on his thigh, before locking eyes with Lynn. Good, she thought, she had his attention.

"Get Lincoln to safety!" she ordered Luan, the wolf beard his teeth at her, growling and his hair was on end. Luan looked at her sister and regretfully nodded.

"Hey! Over here you flee bitten, overgrown pooch! Try get me!" Lynn yelled at the animal tauntingly to keep his attention, it worked as the wolf slowly moved towards her. With her heart pumping Lynn held her weapon ready, roaring and trying to stand tall, while Luan dragged Lincoln out of the water. He quickly coughed up a lot of water, while his body left behind a bloody trail, which only expanded on the wet sand.

Lucy and Lana watched the whole scene from the van, still holding the door open for their siblings while fearing for their lives, Lucy winced with pain while holding onto her waist, where blood was staining her black and white swimsuit. She held onto Lana`s hand with her other arm, unwilling to let her do something stupid, when all of a sudden, "What in the name of Albert Einstein is going on?"

Both sisters gasped as they saw Lisa stumbling out of the tent, blind and completely clueless to what was going on. Luan likewise heard her and turned towards her, as did Lynn, both horrified with the realization that they forgot about her. And much to Lynn`s horror, the wolf also took notice of her.

Lucy and Lana watched her stumbling around, both feeling too scared to act, but Lana quickly mustered up the courage and pulled her hand free.

"I have to get her in!" Lana told Lucy and ran out without another word ran towards wolf observed the two and abruptly charged towards them.

"Nooo!" Lynn screamed and chased after him. The blinded genius stumbled around, trying to find any of her siblings, when someone grabbed her hand.

"Come on Lisa, we have to get inside." she heard Lana`s frantic voice. Still confused, the genius protested.

"Hold on a minute, what's going on..." Lisa was cut off when Lana suddenly screamed and pulled her into a hug, Lana shut her eyes and shielded her younger sister as the wolf appeared right in front of them, running at full in speed.

Suddenly something jumped in his way, grabbed the girls and rolled out of the way, causing the wolf to run straight into the tent, which quickly collapsed on him.

"So I haven't missed the party then?" said the figure who was now holding Lana and Lisa.

"Taylor!" Lana exclaimed happily, Lynn stopped and her jaw dropped.

"What? Put me down this instance, you repugnant vagrant!" Lisa meanwhile complained and squirmed.

"What are you doing here!" Lynn snapped at him.

"Saving your freak asses, what does it look like?" he quipped with annoyance, they both suddenly heard the sound of fabric being torn up and saw the wolf ripping his way out of the tent. Waisting no time, Taylor threw the two youngest Louds into the van, where Lucy helped them get up.

"And stay there!" Taylor ordered them sternly before shutting the door.

"Look out!" Taylor heard Lynn shout, before he could turn she pushed him out of the way as the wolf lunged at him, only to succeed in ramming his head into the vans door.

The two hit the ground and heard the canine yelping and whimpering in pain.

"I didn't think you cared." Taylor quipped as he layed on the ground next to Lynn, who quickly got up.

"Shut up and follow me!" she spat out while grabbing his hand.

"But I have to tell you something."

"Later!" she retorted angrily while pulling him towards the other side of the van, while the dizzy wolf started shaking his aching head frantically. Once they got there, they found Luan dragging Lincoln towards the van.

"He...doesn't look so good." Taylor blurted out after seeing Lincoln`s condition.

"Yes, thanks for the observation Captain Obvious, now help me!" Lynn replied frustratingly.

"Wait? What's he.." Luan asked, but Lynn cut her off.

"Explain later! Now get in!" Lynn yelled as she and Taylor lifted Lincoln, Lana opened the door.

"Thank you Taylor! I knew you`d come back!" she exclaimed, causing the latter to roll his eyes.

Suddenly the kids heard a thud from above, followed by a growl. Lynn and Taylor looked up to see the wolf standing on the roof of the van, looking down at them.

"Quick, grab him!" Lynn yelled at Luan, who was already inside, as she and Taylor threw Lincoln into the teens arms. She stumbled back with him while the wolf jumped and pinned Lynn down.

"Oh no you don't!" Taylor suddenly jumped on the beasts back and got a choke hold on his neck. The wolf raised his head up, snapping his jaws violently, Lynn used the opportunity to crawl back before kicking the wolf in the jaw with both feet.

Taylor slid of him, as the animal once again shook his head madly. Lynn scrambled to her feet and distanced herself from the beast.

"Nice move." she heard Taylor say as he joined her side.

"Eh..well..thank you." she begrudgingly replied.

They were interrupted by the wolfs growl, he was standing between them and the van now, on the other side Luan had reluctantly shut the door. With a wounded Lincoln and Lucy lying on the floor together with the blind and still confused Lisa, a terrified Luan watched the scene outside, along with Lana.

"Luan we have to do something!" Lana cried.

"I know! Just... let me think!" she replied hectically.

Outside, the wolf was slowly prowling towards the two preteens, sizing them down and not taking his one eye of them, seemingly a bit hesitant and weary about striking, as if remembering their ability to fight back.

Her siblings were safe, but Lynn was fully exposed to the predator who was starting to circle them while omitting a low growl. Lynn tried to stay calm and collected, but on the inside she was terrified. She felt Taylor grabbing her hand and pulling her close to him in a seemingly protective gesture. Normally she would have punched his lights out, but under these circumstances it felt strangely comforting. Taylor then started whispering to her.

"Listen Lynn, you're dads alive..."

"What?" she blurted in surprise, but kept her gaze on the wolf who stopped walking and faced them. Taylor`s face turned grim, knowing this meant the animal was ready to attack.

"He`s stuck in a pit. About half a mile west from here." he continued at a hurried pace while keeping a close eye on the wolf, knowing times was up. Before Lynn could replie he continued.

"When I tell you, run for the van." he finished. Lynn groaned in irritation.

"Of course I would...wait...what are you gonna..." suddenly the wolf charged at them full speed.

"Run!" Taylor pushed her out of the way while simultaneously throwing himself back and Lynn hit the ground, she immediately got up and saw that Taylor had miraculously dodged the wolf at the last second. He was stepping away from the beast who was looking back and forth between him and Lynn. Taylor frantically waved and clapped his hands.

"Come on, you mangy, flee bitten, glorified jackal, come at me if you dare!" the wolf starred at him and then back at Lynn.

"Lynn run, come on!" she heard Luan and Lana yelling at her to come, she saw that they had opened the door to the van.

"Come on, get me your shit eating cur!" Taylor yelled at the wolf aggressively, but to his dread the canine was looking at Lynn. She bolted towards her sisters and the wolf chased after her.

Not looking back, Lynn ran towards the van, the wolf quickly gaining at her, as she grabbed Luan`s hand she saw a look of absolute horror on her sisters face, as the wolf was a mere few inches away from her. But Taylor lunged at the wolf, grabbed him by the waist and tackled him to the ground. Luan pulled Lynn in and pushed Lana back.

The last thing they was Taylor desperately trying to hold the wolf down before Luan shut the was no time for happy reunions as all three looked out of the window and saw the jumping up and throwing the boy of him with no effort. Acting quickly, Taylor dove underneath the van and the wolf tried to grab him, but he was too big to follow. He stretched paw out and snagged Taylor`s leg, the boy yelped and crawled further back after claws cut trough his skin.

"We have to do something, he`ll kill him!" Lana was crying as Lynn embraced her, Luan looked around and suddenly spotted something, her bear costume, which she left on one of the seats and something else that was left beside it's. Suddenly the comedian had a eureka moment.

The wolf pushed his head underneath the vehicle and tried digging his way trough, Taylor had little room to manover and stayed in place when the animal suddenly pulled his head back and ran of.

" _Wher he going!_ " Taylor tried to look around, only to hit his head, he grunted in pain, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his left foot. He screamed as the wolf dragged him out and across the ground.

Taylor dug his hand into the sand and threw it into the wolfs eye, the animal yelped and let go of him. Taylor made a desperate attempt to run, but the wolf pinned him down from behind.

Knowing it was over for him,Taylor closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, awaiting the inevitable.

The wolf was ready to bite down on his prey, but suddenly they both heard loud roaring, a confused Taylor opened his eyes while the wolf suddenly froze. As the roaring continued, he became unnerved and his ears dropped, he he backed of the boy, retreating and looking around. Taylor was afraid and puzzled and likewise looked around, when suddenly, the wolf ran of and vanished in the forest.

Then Taylor heard someone laughing over the roaring, painfully, he pushed himself up up, shaken and unable to believe that he was still alive, again, and saw Luan exiting the van, holding a recording which was producing the roaring, Taylor looked dumbstruck.

"Figues the only thing to scare a wolf would be a bear, good thing I used authentic sound effects for my bear prank.", she laughed and turned it off.

Taylor`s surprised expression slowly twisted into a smile and he let out a nervous laugh.

"Luana, you clever little minks..." ignoring his aching body, he hobbled towards Luan and wrapped his around her, pulling her closer and laughiny "...I can't believe it, I...thought I was done for, bu...but you showed that savage beast why man`s the dominant species. Pretty and devious, what a charming combo." he smiled charmingly at her.

Luan blushed, feeling flattered despite Taylor still getting her name wrong "Oh it was nothing..." she said sheepishly. Taylor`s smile faltered as he felt someone hugging him around the waist.

"I`m so glad you're alright." Lana said happily, Taylor glared at here, he hated being hugged, but given the fact that he just narrowly avoided death, he was in an unusually good and tolerant mood. Also, having someone show genuine concern for him felt rather fulfilling.

"Don`t sweat it squirt. It takes more than one Big Bad Wolf to take me out." he smiled genuinely while rugruffing up her hair. Suddenly they heard Lynn making a coughing noise to gain their attention. Taylor smirked at her.

"I assume you wanna thank me?", Lynn ignored him and glared at her sisters.

"If you're done fawning over him, can I reminds you that we have _siblings_ who got badly hurt.

"Lucy! Lincoln!" the two sisters remembered and any joy felt turned into fear, Taylor blinked and grimaced, he made no further remarks.

...

The four entered the van and found Lucy and Lisa looking over the barely conscious Lincoln, who was spread across the floor, his breathing was shallow and blood was smeared across the floor, with more dripping from his wounds. Lynn, Luan and Lana all gasped, finally being able to completely registrate the full severity of his condition. Still standing outside Taylor peaked from behind them and observed the morbid sight. Sighing dejectedly, he turned away and hung his head solemnly.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on? What happened? What's wrong with Lincoln?" Lisa cried desperately, while pressing one hand on her brothers chest, feeling the warm liquid upon touching him, which, along with her brothers sudden lethargic state, quickly clued her in that something was very wrong.

She didn't get an answer however, as all the sisters circled around their only brother.

"Lincoln?" Lana asked meekly while nudging Lincoln`s shoulder with one hand.

"Lincoln please wake up!" she cried more loudly, while Lynn kneeled down and started shaking him while panting frantically.

"Lincoln!" she cried desperately, with tears forming in her eyes, "Wake up! Don't you dare give up on us now!, she sniffed and kept shaking him.

Finally Lincoln started to stir a bit and slowly opened his eyes, "Lynn...?" he said weakly, his voice barely above a strained whisper.

All the sisters felt a small amount of relief, as Lincoln tried to scan his surroundings, his eyes only half opened and his consciousness already slipping away.

"Lynn...is...is everyone safe?" he rasped feebly.

"Yes...yes, we`re all here, safe. The wolf is gone." she smiled weakly, but her voice was cracking up while she grasped her brothers hand. A small smile formed on his lips.

"Good..." he whispered before his voice started giving up, his sisters became concerned as he started closing his eyes, his eye lids getting too heavy to stay up.

"No Lincoln, you have to stay awake!" Lynn cried again.

"I`ll...e fine...just...some...rest..." he struggled to form a sentence and his eyes closed as he lost consciousness.

"No! Lincoln! Wake up!" Lynn sobbed and shook him, but to no effect, all the others sobbed and became quiet, while Taylor watched them from the outside, remaining silent and stoic before a rain drop tapped his head. He glanced up and more drops started falling down, until it turned into a full blows downpour.

...

A bolt of lighting zapped trough the gray sky, followed immediately by a crack of thunder. It was raining across the land, soaking the forest and the heavy, drenching rain caused visibility to drop to a minimum, while heavy winds shook the trees. Not even a glimmer of sunlight shined trough the thick, grey clouds that clogged up the sky, making the world bellow look bleak, gloomy and drained of color.

The rain tapped on the roof of the van, while it's windows had become fogged up. There wasn't a whole lot of light and the inside of the vehicle looked dark and somber, only to sporadically light up for a second following each zap of lighting. The glum atmosphere only complemented the feeling of sorrow and hopelessness that engulfed the sisters as they all quietly watched the limp form of their brother, who was lying on the backseat. He remained still, exept for his chest which was slowly rising up and down, accompanied by his barely audible breathing and exhaling.

After he had passed out, they had taken their first aid kit, tried to clean out his wound, before tightly wrapping his torso with bandages to prevent any further loss of blood. That was all they could do for him at the moment. After that, they had stopped to observe their unconscious brother, Lana and Lisa were seated right next to his head while the others were kneeling in front of him.

Taylor meanwhile, kept his distance. He was sitting just behind the drivers seat, slouching and blankly watching the rain falling out of the window, constantly wiping it to clear the fog. He too remained quiet, he hadn't spoken with any of the Louds ever since they started working on treating their brother, Taylor wasn't the kind of person who was good with comforting words and he had a feeling that the best thing he could do right now was to keep his mouth shut for once. He recalled the youngest of the Louds blabbing something about blood loss, Lincoln getting into stage three of hypovolemia and that they needed to get him to hospital. How a freaking 3 year old understood any of that medical crap was beyond him.

Taylor didn't know much about healthcare or medicine, but hailing from South Africa, he was quite familiar with stories of animal attacks, he had heard more than his fair share of them, and they tended to end in two respective ways : person dying during attack, person succumbing to blood loss shortly after. In his mind Lincoln was as good as dead, he had heard of numerous adults dying like this, there was no way a whimpy 10 year old shrimp like him had any prayer left after a mauling like this. He probably wouldn't even last the night.

The eerie silence continued, punctuated only by the sound of raining and wind blowing, and the sporadic crack of thunder. It was finally broken when Luan sighed.

"We can't do anything more for him, we just have to let him rest for now..." she said dejectedly, no one replied, some just gave her bleak looks before looking back at their brother.

"Lucy, it's time to treat you..." she turned to the goth, who looked at her without uttering a word, she looked like a wreck and her expression seemed numb and detached.

Her brother had taken the mauling to protect her, and now he was practically lying on his deathbed, Lucy was so preoccupied thinking about him that she had basically forgotten all about her own wounds.

The likewise distraught teen blinked as she grimly observed the 7 year olds blood stained swimsuit.

"And...you'll have pull down your swimsuit, so I can treat you..." Luan started solemnly and gently grabbed her hand "...don`t worry no one will stare at you..." Luan reassured her and started leading her away, Lucy didn't argue or say anything and simply followed her. Luan looked at Taylor and then turned towards Lynn, who was gently stroking Lincoln`s face, seemingly waiting to see any sign of life from him.

"Lynn..." the jock slowly turned to look at her, Luan sighed and continued.

"I`m gonna treat Lucy, could you..." the teens voice drifted of, she didn`t know how to ask this from Lynn, but the latter noticed where her sisters gaze was directed and she groaned in annoyance upon putting two and two together.

"Why me?..." she asked bitterly, unwilling to move away from her brother.

"Well...I don't why he did it, but he did help us..." Luan said quietly and looked back towards the boy who was slouching behind the drivers seat. She turned back towards Lynn with an almost pleading look. Lynn remained reluctant.

"But he also hurt me, and Lincoln, and you..." she said with contempt "...and it was his idiot lackey who attacked you and Lana.", hearing this, Lana shivered and shrank back as she recollected those traumatic memories.

"Lynn makes a valid point, why should his health be of our concern?" Lisa spoke up while shivering and cuddling to Lana. Luan sighed.

"I understand, he`s a wildcard if I ever saw one, but...he saved Lana twice...and you too Lisa..." Lisa shrank back with some shame "...and he saved you Lynn, if he hadn't tackled that wolf you would have been hurt...or worse..." Luan`s voice cracked a bit as she thought about it and Lynn`s face softened somewhat.

"I think we owe him that much..." Luan finished.

"Lynn, please treat him, he has also been hurt..." Lana suddenly spoke and begged Lynn. Lynn looked into her big pleading eyes and finally gave in.

"Fine...whatever, let's get this over with..." Lynn grumbled, before covering a blanket over Lincol. It was getting pretty cold inside the van, not helped by the fact that most of them, other than Lana, Lisa and Taylor, were stuck in nothing more than swimsuits, not that the former three were dressed to deal with the sudden drop in temperature that came with the storm either.

After what they had experienced today, none of them dared to go out and retrieve their clothes or any pillows and blankets, it was pure luck that they had left two of the latter, along with the first aid kid in the van.

Lynn wrapped the two youngest sisters with the other blanket, telling them to stay with Lincoln and to share the blanket with Lucy, once she came back. They nodded and Lynn felt shivers and hugged herself for warmth as she walked towards Luan, who was seated with Lucy in the center of the van. Lynn took some cotton and the remaining bottled saline and moved on.

Luan grimaced as she observed the puncture marks on Lucy`s pail flesh, it was a graphic sight, even more given that it was her own little sister. Luan focused on cleaning those wounds up as best as she could before putting bandages on the goth.

...

Hearing footsteps, Taylor grunted in annoyance and turned around, only to be surprised to see Lynn approaching him. He frowned at her.

"Hey there tall, dark and gruesome." she snarked coldly, making Taylor narrow his eyes.

"Oh, to what do I owe the plesure?" he asked in a deadpan tone, his expression aloof and indifferent. With an unpleasant look, Lynn sat down next to him and Taylor cocked an eyebrow as he saw her pour the content from a small bottle over some cotton she was holding.

"What`s the hell is that for?" he asked annoyingly. Lynn grumbled.

"To clean your wounds..." she answered bitterly "...Luan talked me into it, now stay still."

As she tried to reach the cuts on his face, Taylor jerked back and grabbed her hand to push it away.

"Get that stuff away from me!" he snapped, his voice however bore a twinge of fear. Lynn scowled.

"Will you quit the whining..." she snapped back, but kept her voice reasonably low, not wanting to stir up any more commotion "...I`m trying to help you."

"I don't need any help, or medicine, I`m perfectly fine!" he growled at her tensely. Lynn huffed.

"Yeah right, if by "perfectly fine" you mean getting infections..." she replied sarcastically. Taylor glared at her.

"Yeah? Then so be it!" he huffed too and faced away from her.

"I don't care about it. And why should you?", Lynn was quickly becoming fed up with him.

"Trust me, I don't, and if your gonna be a big baby like this then I'll leave you to fester!"

Lynn stood up and was ready to storm of, Taylor turned around to face her, when he heard a voice in his head " _What are you doing you idiot!? You may never get another chance!_ "

"No wait!" he reached out to stop her and she halted and glared at him, Taylor swallowed a lump and moved back into his seat, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He tried, but struggled to say "I`m sorry" as he was still battling with his old habits.

"I...eh didn't mean it, you can treat my wounds..." he stumbled awkwardly, desperately trying to sound more collected "... if you want...I mean not that I care." he finished haughtily.

" _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_..." he lamented inwardly. But, to his surprise Lynn actually sat back next to him. She slowly breathed in and out to calm her nerve.

"Alright, but yell at me one more time and you can treat yourself!" she warned him.

"Yes ma'am." he answered with some levity, while she treated his facial scars. Taylor wondered what to say next, but she wound up beating him to the punch. There was something she needed to know now.

Putting on a strong face, she asked him.

"You said you saw my dad? Trapped in a pit?", Taylor raised an eye brow.

"Oh that? Yes I did, like I told you..." Lynn glared at him with uncertainty, she didn't know if he was being honest or playing a cruel joke on her. She was done cleaning his face and looked at him with a mixture of distrust and hurt.

"Is that really true? Cuz if you're toying with me...", that accusation aggravated the boy and he cut in.

"I`m not! Why would I lie to you?" Taylor paused to lower his voice and continued.

"I`m telling you it's true, I saw him, but he didn't see me. I had no time for chitchat, cuz I heard one of you screaming, and I ran to help you. I don't know how he fell in there, but my best guess would be that it had something to do with the wolf. Probably ran into him while looking for Linda, ran and fell in..." Taylor theorized, remembering the scream he had heard this morning and now seeing the probable context of it.

Lynn meanwhile became quiet, as if trying to process the information, her father was alive after all. Seeing her silent demeanor, Taylor felt she needed more reassurance.

"And don't worry, he`s safe the way he is, no matter how hungry that mutt might be, there's no way he would be dumb or desperate enough to jump down a hole and trap himself as well. Your pops is safe, drenched, freezing, possibly bruised and catching a cold, but still alive..." Taylor stopped, thinking that he could have phrased that better.

" _He`s alive_..." Lynn thought with joy "... _I have to tell the others, but what to do now? How to get him out of there? Lincoln doesn't have much time? And that wolf?.._.." she started getting frustrated again, as her troubles started pilling up once more.

"Lynn!" she was shaken out of her thoughts as Taylor grabbed her hand. Surprised, she looked at him, and to her surprise he looked...regretful?

"I know what you're probably thinking about, but...please, hear me out, I have to tell you something else.", Lynn raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"And what's that?" she frowned at him, half expecting some stupid quip, but instead Taylor faced away from her and let out a deep sigh.

"Lynn I`m sorry..." he said weakly.

"Huh?" Lynn uttered, caught of guard. Taylor finally looked at her and for the first time ever, Lynn saw him not being obnoxiously confident, snarky and unapologetic, but the complete opposite, looking and sounding remorseful and vulnerable.

"I said I`m sorry, for the way I treated you and your family, it was wrong...to put it mildly." he said bluntly.

Lynn blinked, unable to believe her eyes and ears, did he say what she thought he said? It couldn't be. He had to be trying to mess with her. Lynn narrowed her eyes as she sent him a disapproving glare.

"Yeah, nice try. I don't know what you're trying to accomplish but you ain't fooling me." she told him coldly. Taylor`s face hardened as he glared back at her, her reaction was totally expected and the boy kept telling himself to stay calm and respectful. He wasn't expecting forgiveness, the only thing he dared hope for was that she would actually realize that he was being honest.

"What I am trying to accomplish is to apologize. I`m not asking or expecting you to forgive me, but I just wanted you to know that I regret everything I did to you guys. Everything you said about me was true, you had every right to hate me and I wasn't man enough to admit it, instead I just kept doubling down, smirking, acting like I didn't give a shit and letting my pride get the better of me and just made things worse, like a complete moron..."

He once again looked away from her, starring at the foggy window. Lynn was shocked to hear what she did, she still wanted to believe that he was lying, yet he sounded so sincere, in fact his demeanor was so different that he barely came of as the same person, the monster that she viewed him as, now he seemed like...just another kid, who knew he messed up, plus some of the he things said seemed uncomfortably familiar to Lynn.

"What the hell has gotten into you..." she hissed, though her voice bad had an undertone of confusion and disbelief, her voice quickly rose with anger "...just a few hours ago you pummeled down on me, said you didn't want to see any of us and you acted like the same shithead you were ever since I met you, and now all of a sudden you're "sorry"!? Just what are you are trying to pull!"

"I realized I did wrong..." he said plainly, but his response only seemed to frustrate Lynn more.

"Now you realize!? After all the shit you`ve done and after you laughed and treated all of that like a fucking game, now you realize you were wrong?..." she growled, not buying his supposed remorse.

Taylor kept swallowing his ego and sighed. She was right, oh so very right.

"I...always knew what kind of a person, at least to some level, but I just ignored it for a long time, it was just easy to do and it made me feel better about myself. Pushing others around, it made me feel superior and powerful and it just sort of became a habit. It just became who I was and I became comfortable and ran with it..."

He paused and looked her in the eye. She was silent and listening, the contempt she felt for him was still visible on her face.

"And what made you change your mind now?" she finally asked, plainly. Taylor sighed and shrugged slightly.

"Well, I was all alone and I was sure that I was going to die, and when you think that your days are numbered you lose all reason to shield your precious ego, and you take a long, hard look at yourself and how you`ve lived. And well I did finally take a look at myself and...well it wasn't a pretty sight."

"Yeah, in more ways than one..." Lynn huffed, Taylor felt a twinge of anger, but he remained composed.

"Oh believe me, you aren't the first who has noticed ..." he responded in a jaded tone "...plenty of kids took notice of my "beatiful completion" back home and they let me know it..." his frown slowly curved into a small, fond smile.

"That is until I realized that I could shut them up by punching them in the face, the rest is history..."

"You were made fun of because of your look?..." Lynn asked in surprise and Taylor shrugged nonchalantly.

"It was a long time ago, for the most part they feared me and I rolled with it, if no one likes you then at least you can force them to respect you, if only by fear."

"But didn't you say you had friends that you left behind?" Lynn asked him again. Taylor snorted bitterly.

"That may have been a strong word, most kids did what I said out of fear, others were more or less just co-bullies, but as Lyle and even that Kathleen bimbo have shown me, there's no honor among bullies. I doubt anyone cared once I left, hell most were probably celebrating."

"I see..." Lynn said awkwardly, she strangely started pitying the boy in front of her. By all accounts it was starting to sound like he was a sad person who has led a hollow life of bullying others, which left him bitter and alone. She was also starting to see that the smarmy jackass of a sleez that she has known until now was more a facade used for coping than anything. Lynn was unsure if she wanted to pry deeper and learn more about him.

Perhaps the most eerie part were the odd parallels she was suddenly seeing between him and her family, Lucy, Luan and Lincoln had all been mocked for their odd looks and the former two were complete outcasts among their peers.

And then there were the similarities between him and herself, obviously they both had tempers and were extraordinarily strong, but even more, the flaw of arrogantly ignoring your own faults and dismissing other peoples criticism, and worse still, resorting to bullying when things didn't go your way...that was basically her less than a month ago.

"What`s wrong? You`ve gotten awfully quiet..." Taylor deadpaned to break the silence.

Lynn felt ashamed to speak up, although she had mostly only confronted Taylor to protect her siblings and the things she said about him were valid, she now felt like a self righteous hypocrite. While she never went out to terrorize her neighborhood the way he did, she realized how she still shared a lot of his principal faults, even though she had been popular among her peers troughout most of her life, something Taylor apparently never was or was quite the opposite.

Taylor`s earlier words about how no one was above brutalizing others rang true more than ever and she couldn't deny it when thinking about herself.

But she had changed, she had learned to better herself. Could he possibly do the same, could he have it in him to change?

Lynn then recalled what Taylor had done just an hour ago, all to protect her and her siblings, and suddenly her last question seemed pointless. But still, why did he return and why was he willing to risk his life for them?

"Taylor?" her sudden response made Taylor flinch in surprise, and he made eye contact with Lynn.

"Why did you come back? Why did you help us, you know you very nearly died?" she asked him firmly. He didn't hesitate with his answer.

"That`s simple, while I was alone I saw the wolf heading towards your camp, luckily he didn't spot me..."

"What?" Lynn was surprised while Taylor nodded affirmatively.

"... yes, and I thought about running away and saving my own skin, but I didn't. I thought about what a worthless scumbag I was and I figured it was better to finally do something good rather than save my worthless life, I more than owed it to you guys. After I found your dad, I felt even more reason to help you. I knew that I probably wouldn't make it, but I at least wanted to make it up to you all by making sure that you were all saved...because frankly you guys deserve to live much more than me."

Taylor sighed somberly while Lynn looked at him in shock, her idea about his low self esteem being proven right, but even worse it extended to the point were he barely even valued his own life, which was never more apparent than when he had physically tackled the wolf, to help her get away. He knew exactly what he was doing and didn't care about it. Lynn started feeling compassion for him, as bad of a time as many of her siblings had with their bullying issues, none of them ever fell to such a low.

"Taylor...I.." she stumbled awkwardly. She thought about how both Lucy and especially Lincoln had been badly injured during the attack, but how much worse could it have been if Taylor had never intervened?

"I really meant it, as for me, I thought that if I didn't make it, at least I would go out being something more than a miserable bully..." he admitted sadly, but kept his composer, when something unexpected happened.

Lynn hugged him. Before he knew it he was in her embrace. Taylor became stunned with disbelief, before being overwhelmed with that same fuzzy and light headed feeling as before, only this time it was about five times stronger.

"Thank you, for protecting my siblings and me..." she said uncharacteristically softly, her voice and gentle embrace made Taylor blush and tense up nervously, "...I`ll always be grateful for that."

Taylor struggled to comprehend any coherent thoughts, even failing to notice Lana looking straight at him, until she finally revealed herself.

"Aww are you to finally getting along?" she asked sweetly, Lynn`s eyes shut open in surprise and she let go of Taylor and turned towards her sister. Taylor used the distraction to desperately use his cold hands to extinguish his blush before Lynn saw it.

"Lana, what are you doing here? I thought I told you stay?", upon hearing Lana looked down and shuffled her foot sheepishly.

"I`m sorry, I just wanted to know if he was okay..." she said apologetically while pointing at Taylor. Lynn`s face softened.

"It okay, I`m not mad..." she said while picking Lana up and placing her between herself and Taylor.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" she told her while giving Taylor a look that said "you better be nice to her if you know what's good for you".

"Hey Taylor..." Lana look at him sheepishly, he looked back at her awkwardly, unsure how to react, his mind still a bit fuzzy.

"Taylor, are you still mad at me, I know how I messed up..." she started sadly, but Taylor stopped her.

"No squirt, I`m not. And I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

"But...I.." she stuttered, but Taylor stopped her again.

"Look kid, I know you didn't mean anything, you were just curious and exploring. You're only 5 and you'll learn, I did plenty of stupid stuff when I was your age..." he pulled back his sleeve and pointed at an old, healed scar.

"See that, when I was like 6 years old I stupidly approached a group of baboons and the big, lead male decided to give me a very painful memo to get lost." he told them.

"After that I learned that you should only admire wild animals from a safe distance." he explained.

"Wow...so you like animals too?" Lana asked him curiously. Taylor shrugged.

"Well sort of. They're cool, I guess." he said nonchalantly. Lynn actually felt a chuckle coming, her little sister and Taylor were actually relating about something.

"Okay Lana I see that you're taking a shine to him, but there's something else you should know. It's about dad." , Lana turned towards and grew a big smile.

"Oh I know, we all heard what you and Taylor were talking about, and I'm very happy!", the two preteens both became gumbsmacked.

"You do? Were you spying on us?" Taylor asked. Lana shook her head.

"No, the rest of us just sort of heard everything you said, we`re all in the same van after all. The others just didn't want to disturb you.", Lynn and Taylor looked at each other, both feeling uncomfortable. For Taylor, he remembered how much he had opened up and hated the idea of the others showering him with pity, while for Lynn it was knowing how her sisters heard her and probably saw her getting too emotional with Taylor when she thanked him.

She sighed, feeling defeated before wrapping one arm around her sister, smiling warmly. "Okay Lana, why don't you go to Luan and bring me some bandages, so I can treat Taylor`s injured leg.

"Sure Lynn. But what about dad? We have to save him, and bring Lincoln to a hospital." the little blonde asked.

Lynn was uncertain about what to say there, but she gave a sister a determined look.

"We will! We just have to figure out how." she told her firmly and hugged her reassuringly, before sending her to fetch the bandages. Taylor smirked at her.

"You know, I can't believe I`m saying this, but I think I'm sort of growing to like the little squirt." he admitted begrudgingly. Lynn gave him a smile and for once it was a friendly one.

"That`s Lana for you, she has enough cuteness and optimism to win over even the most hard headed of people, I should know.", Taylor smirked, but then his expression turned more serious.

"And how do you plan on saving your old man? We won't get anywhere without him?", upon hearing that Lynn grew more somber and looked at Lincoln, who was still lying where she had left him.

"I don't know...Lincoln is the one who usually comes up with plans when we're in trouble..." she choked on her words as she looked back at her brother, being reminded of her failure to protect him and the ticking time clock they were left with. Taylor placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Well I`m not too bad at plotting myself, we`ll think of something by tomorrow, I promise you that." for the first time he gave a smile that showed genuine compassion, giving Lynn some much needed hope.

Outside the downpour continued with no signs of slowing down, the kids were temporarily save within the confounds of the van, but they still weren't out of the woods, in both meanings of the phrase.

 **And what do you know, Taylor has finally done something right and tried to redeem himself, and he and Lynn finally had some positive interaction, as well as him and Lana without him having any self serving, alternate motives. Too bad that had to coincide with two of the siblings getting badly wounded in the attack and one might not make it. Still trapped and still at natures mercy, time is running out for them, as are their available options...**


	9. Not So Different

**It's been a while, I`ve been very busy, blah, blah, blah, the usual stuff, but now I'm back and the story continues...**

Taylor flinched a bit as Lynn finished wrapping up his foot, she looked at him with a slightly amused expression.

"Too tight?" she asked snidely.

"Yes." he growled with irrigation, Lynn smirked and pulled both ends of the bandage tightly, making Taylor wince, before tying them in a strong knot.

"Good. That means you won't have to worry about any more bleeding." she said firmly while Taylor grumbled under his breath. Suddenly Lynn`s mouth curled into a smile.

"You know I never would have thought that the big, bad Taylor would be so scared of some simple medical treatment.", Taylor sneered and crossed his arms at her teasing.

"I have a lot of unpleasant memories with hospitals, alright? That place is a house of horrors." he lamented before shuddering.

"Really? Well call it a wild guess, but maybe if you didn't constantly do reckless and stupid things, like going into the middle of a wilderness by yourself, you wouldn't have so many bad "hospial memories".", Taylor snorted at the remark.

"Me? Reckless? I don't think you`re in a position to lecture me Sport Girl. How many hospital bills did daddy have to pay as a result of your impulsive little temper on the field?" he smirked smugly.

Lynn glared at him for a second before shrugging nonchalantly, "A lot, but whenever I visited the doctor I sucked it up and stayed brave, even when they were pushing one of my bones back into it's socket. And that happened three times...at least." she said proudly while a dumbfounded Taylor started at her and subsequently shuddered inwardly at the thought of it.

"Alright, you win..." he admitted defeat, she certainly had him trumped in the "not being scared of the doctor" category, but then he thought of another way to tease her.

"Oh so you have visited the hospital a lot too? Is that how you picked up your first aid skills Nurse Loud?" he said teasingly, but to his disappointment Lynn just snorted and rolled her eyes at the remark.

"If you`re trying to annoy me you`re gonna need to step up your game." she huffed at him sarcastically before jumping of her seat.

" _She`a catching on_..." Taylor smirked admirably, but before he could lean to see where she was going, he got distracted by a loud crack of thunder. Wiping the fog of the window he groaned upon seeing that the rain hadn't dialed down even a bit.

" _If this keeps up we might just be able to use this pile of junk as a boat to sail back home_." he mumbled sarcastically to himself.

"So how are you guys doing?

"Been better." Luan told Lynn while she was finishing wrapping up her arm. Sitting next to her was Lucy, her blood stained swimsuit concealing the bandages around her waist, looking down at the floor. She was as quiet and unresponsive as before, her only movement being the occasional jitter from the cold. Lynn could see the dowright shell-shocked expression on her face and it was no mystery why she was so distraught.

Moving on to see Lincoln, Lynn heard the comedian sneezing which was promptly followed by her herself having a coughing fit and wiping her nose, which was starting to clog up and drip heavily.

" _Great, all that was left was for us all to catch a cold._ " she thought miserably.

"Are you feeling okay Lynn?" Lana asked her.

"I`ll be fine, it's just a cold." the jock reassured her. Lana was once again looking over Lincoln, while Lisa had dozed off in the meantime and was snuggling to Lincolns head. For a genius, who's mind was working a mile a minute, she certainly was prone to drifting off into slumber rather easily, but then again Lynn and most others had to constantly remind themselves that Lisa was still only 3 years old.

The sight would easily have been heartwarming, thought Lynn, if it wasn't for the fact that the toddler prodigy might wake up huddled to a lifeless body in the morning. Lynn shuddered at the thought, stubbornly telling herself that this would never happen, and kneeled next to Lana.

"He`s still sleeping Lynn, when will he wake up?" Lana asked innocently, Lynn had placed her hand against her brothers chest, feeling it rising up and down along with his heart beat. She once again felt a small amount of relief. He was still with them, but for how much longer?

" _Come on Linc, stay strong, I know you can_." she thought sadly while gently stroaking his face. Lana`s question finally registered with her, but she felt hesitant to answer.

"I...I don't know, we`ll just have to wait and see." she replied quietly, the response made the little tomboy frown.

"Excuse me if I`m barging in on a delecate moment, but I was wondering..." the two turned and saw Taylor standing above them, he too seemed focused on Lincoln, though his expression was otherwise unreadable. Lynn sighed.

"What is it now Taylor?" she asked indifferently.

"Well I was just wondering, why did he take the brunt of the attack?" the boy asked out of simple curiosity. Lynn`s face scrunched up and she faced away from him, back to her brother. Hearing Taylor`s question, Lucy, meanwhile, started shivering as the unpleasant memory came back to her. She shut her eyes tight, desperately trying to block that memory out .

Luan saw her reaction and wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"That`s not your concern..." Lynn answered in a hushed, yet still agitated tone.

"I have a right to know, you know?" Taylor told her, mildly annoyed. She refused to answer him, but Lana did.

"He got hurt while protecting Lucy." Taylor looked down at her.

"Protected?" he asked puzzlingly. That's when Luan got up and joined in.

"He used himself to shield Lucy from the wolf..." the teen explained with a heavy heart, gaining Taylor`s attention. Lucy shrank further and a small tear escaped her eyes.

"He protected her, but he took all the punishment for it..." Luan almost choked on her words, on one hand she was proud of her brothers courageous act, but at the same time grieving over it's consequences. No good deed went unpunished indeed.

"Wow..." Taylor was pretty amazed by the revelation and gazed back at the white haired boy "...I never would have expected him to do something so...ballsy.", Lynn snorted upon hearing that.

"There`s a lot you don't know about him, but that's what you get when you judge people trough your pessimistic, superficial lense...", Taylor frowned and leaned down on the nearest seat.

"I prefer to call it "being realistic", besides, I`m usually quite good at reading people and frankly this was a surprise.", Luan huffed and glared at him.

"Well it's too bad that you can't grasp how people will do crazy things to protect the ones they love.", Taylor gave her an "are you serious?" deadpan glare before looking away dismissively.

"Kay, if you say so..." he replied indifferently.

"And you know what's funny Taylor?" Luan spontaneously continued.

"You`re full of surprises too. I mean I`m still having trouble believing that you did what you did today, if you didn't have the bite marks to prove it right now...why did you do it?", upon hearing that question they all saw Taylor`s face darkening.

"I already said why. I ain't gonna repeat myself like a broken record." he stated coldly.

"Taylor, there's nothing shameful about admitting you did wrong..." Luan told him, her sympathetic tone and look caught Taylor completely off guard, "...quite the opposite, it takes a lot of courage to fess up like you did.", Taylor blinked in surprise.

"Really? Well thanks for that nugget of wisdom, but I think I was a little too late on that... I have already cemented myself as public enemy number one for all the kids in town..." he shot back apathetically, but then he grew a look and tone of regret "...besides that I had treated you all like crap, Lynn especially."

The jocks face softened after being reminded of the boys genuine guilt, while Lana moved towards him and tugged him by the sleeve, Taylor sighed.

"What is it squirt?" he asked her in a slightly more pleasant tone.

"But Taylor, you came back to help us when we needed you, even after that big fight you had with Lynn..." she told him sweetly.

"Yeah, and all that stuff you told Lynn, and why you did what you did...wow..." Luan`s voice drifted off, as did her gaze, unsure what to say next. But for Taylor, the mere mentioning of that topic hit a nerve.

"Don`t you dare pity me..." he growled while pulling his sleeve out of Lana`s grip, causing both her and Luan to flinch at his sudden moon swing.

"...I don't need that crap and I don't care, I know you all hate me and I can live with it, but don`t you dare give me pity..." he stopped abruptly when Luan jumped out of her seat, her face furious.

"We are not pitying you stubborn idiot!" she snapped at him, causing Taylor to jerk back in surprise. Panting deeply, Luan calmed herself and lowered her voice.

"No ones pitying you, believe it or not, we actually understand how you feel and what you went trough, more than you might think, and I think I kind of even understand why you are the way you are, so if you could stop the hardass, emo, macho act for a moment and hear us out." she stated firmly, Taylor looked at for a few seconds before snorting halfheartedly.

"You? Understand me? How?" he deadpaned, when Lana tugged at his sleeve again.

"Luan has been made fun of too, as was Lucy, and Lincoln..." Lana told him. Taylor snorted dourly.

"Well that's hardly a surprise..." he replied plainly. Luan narrowed her eyes and rubbed her temples, not wanting to lose her cool.

"I`m sure it isn't, but did you ever think why were made fun of?" Luan asked him, her tone going from snide to irritated.

"Same as you, because they were different..." the tomboy told Taylor sadly, with an undertone of anger. Suddenly, she felt a hand tapping her on the shoulder.

"If you don't mind, I`ll take it from here..." Luan told her with a smile and picked her up. She moved past Taylor and sat next to him, in front of the window, with Lana in her lap.

"If you're willing to listen please hear me out, I think you should know this..." she told him seriously.

Unsure of how to react, Taylor looked behind him and saw Lynn giving him a brief glare before going back to watching over her brother, something told her to keep out of this. Meanwhile Lucy stayed where she was, quietly avoiding eye contact with everyone else. Sighing, Taylor turned back towards Luan and Lana.

"Fine, shoot. It's not like any of us have anything better to do right now..." he replied tiredlly.

...

Just how many hours had passed nobody could know, but eventually a blanket of darkness started covering the landscape, the area surrounding the bus, already rather dark and blurry from the clouds and rain, was gradually loosing what little light it had left, dusk was approaching and soon after, it would be night, a very bad time for anyone to be trapped in the woods.

Taylor had listened to the Louds story, as told by Luan and whatever bit of trivia Lana had to chim in. They left out Lynn`s part of the story, feeling she should talk about it herself, but pulled no punches when it came to their history of bullying, Luan had a lot to say there about herself and on behalf of Lucy, as well as Lincoln. And regarding Luans comment about fessing up to your faults, she went out and elaborated on her families history of dysfunction, which ultimately ended with their parent divorce. Taylor initially thought that he would be bored to death with this, but in the end, his reaction was quite the opposite.

"That...that`s brutal." he said plainly, feeling gobsmacked and uncomfortable, he was specifically referring to the treatment Luan and Lucy received at the hands of their peers, he could have guessed that they were mocked for their looks and quirks, but not to this extent. It honestly made him feel disgusted with himself for having had even the smallest involvement in it.

"That`s a big understatement, but it's all true. Now you see, we know how you must have felt, cuz me and Luce felt it ten times worse." Luan and said sadly and Lana hugged her comfortably around the chest.

"And they both kept it quiet, they didn't want to bother us..." the little tomboy said sadly. Taylor blinked awkwardly, his mind kept diverting back towards Lucy, as her story sounded too cruel to be true, even for a jadded pessimist like him.

"The...eh goth one..." he started awkwardly "...you say she's so pale because she was born with some...blood disease and nearly died as a baby? And her classmates knew about it and yet they still made fun of her and treated her like an outcast?" he still had trouble believing that one, even at his lowest Taylor would not have crossed the line of mocking someone about their disability.

Luan simply nodded "It is, not too long ago I took her to a party I was performing at. There all the kids mocked her relentlessly and made her cry in agony.", Taylor was quite literally speechless, the goth girls story was such an eerie mirror image of his own past in first and second grade, but he quickly found a way to shut his tormentors up, which was a whole nother story.

"That`s why she became a goth, to deal with her grief, and she said that having us as family is the only real joy in her life." Lana added sadly.

"And you? Just...how the hell did you last this long without beating someone into a pulp?" his question was directed at Luan. To him it was simply unimaginable that someone could endure so much bullying without going down a path of violent retribution.

"Well not all of us have inhuman strength like you..." the teen made a halfhearted joke.

"You seem like you`re capable enough of brawling, given how you tackled both me and Lyle.." Taylor pointed out, Luan snorted.

"Yeah, but obviously I didn't do much damage either time, besides, not only that, but I can't risk getting into trouble when I have no one at school who would have my back. Trust me, I thought about kicking Kathleen`s ass no matter the consequences, but in the end I was always to scared to do it, and in the end I`m kind of glad I never did it cuz knowing her, Kathleen would have found a way to use that to make my life even more miserable." Lana once again hugged her disheartened sister.

"I still don't get it, why are other kids like this?" she asked her sister dejectedly. Taylor`s face grew sullen and bitter again, he gladly gave her an answer.

"Because all kids can and will be bullies, who in turn are like poachers, opportunists, they always attack the weakest, the loners, the ones that stand out, the ones who have no one to protect them, and unfortunately your two sisters fit that bill perfectly..." he spoke in a jadded tone, recalling his own experience while catching a poorly defined reflection of his own mug in the foggy window.

"And so do I, the world is a cruel place, there`s no place for the weird or the ugly, those are crimes for which the "normal crowd" has little pity. I learned that a long time ago and turned my back on the world, but that did me little good in the long run." he sighed dejectedly.

"It`s true Lana, it's unfortunately true..." Luan had to reluctantly agree with Taylor`s sentiment.

"I`m at least glad to have you guys as my family..." she smiled at the 5 year old who, on the other hand, seemed sad and moved out of her lap, seating herself between her and Taylor.

"Do you have siblings?" she asked him curiously. Taylor groaned at that question, but reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah, a sister and a brother, and...?" he questioned her impatiently.

"Didn`t you at least have them and your parents? Don't they support you when you're down?", her question seemed resonable, yet from Taylor`s perspective it was obnoxiously ignorant. He shook his head.

"Nadda, we ain't that close, we mostly mind our own business and keep to our selves. My folks don't pay much mind to me, and let's just say I don't have the healthiest relationship with my siblings. " he answered, rather casually.

"What?" Lana uttered in disbelief, Luan felt the same. Lynn, who had been listening to their conversation was likewise caught off guard.

"Yep, we barely speak with one another, mom and dad are often away at work and besides, they prefer paying attention to the oh so scholarly Renee and the always upstanding, little boy scout Roy. Me? I`m just a hanger on, the deadbeat, the surplus black sheep of the family. I doubt they think much more of me than the kids that fear me."

The girls were all shocked to hear this. Lynn wasn't particularly surprised if Taylor was emotionally distant from his own family, but knowing his side of the story roused her curiosity. His relaxed demeanor was at odds with everyone else, who felt surprised and shocked by his casual attitude to his alleged neglectful home life.

Lana gasped "But that sounds awful, that's not how a family should act!", Taylor laughed mildly and faced her.

"Don`t be ridiculous squirt, it gives me all the freedom I want, I can go and do whatever I please and they never notice. In fact you should hear how I got them to let me go camping." he happily argued.

"Hmmm I assume it isn't because they trusted in your sense of responsibility, big shock." Lynn snarked at him, finally speaking up. Taylor sent her a smirk.

"You're catching on Lynn, of course not! We were all supposed to go to some lame family gathering in Pennsylvania for the weekend, but I really didn't have my heart set on tormenting myself with hordes of annoying relatives, so I told them about how I had already promised to visit a new friend I meet out of town and badabing I libarated myself into having a nice weekend trip all to myself." he sounded like he had some sort of privilege, but no one else in the van would agree on that.

"So you just lied to your own parents, classy Taylor?" Lynn replied disapprovingly. The boy laughed it off.

"Lying? That's such an ugly word, I was just...you know...colorig the truth, just a little bit." he quipped, but his tone had a tint of nervousness.

"Taylor? Lying is bad, you shouldn't lie to your family, that's not right." Lana said in a hurt tone. The boy eventually let out a long dejected sigh.

"Look kid, I have to find some damn benefit out of it, believe me I`m not ecstatic about being ignored, but I have to make the best of it."

"And what has that "freedom" brought you..." Luan inquired disapprovingly "...hurting others? Being feared and hated by everyone? Your run in with Hairy McFangface?". She said everything matter of factly, after Taylor failed to respond she shook her head sadly.

"No offense Taylor, but you seem to be an even sadder clown than me." Taylor sent her an annoyed glare, before snorting with bitter sarcasm.

"Well thanks a lot for the kind words, I feel so much better about myself now, hey, if the comedy stuff doesn't work why don't you try out psychology." Luan ignored his sarcastic jab and looked at Lana, some unspoken conversation seemingly going down between them.

Suddenly, without warning, Taylor was pulled into a hug by both of them.

"Hey! What are you doing!" he squirmed and protested.

"I told you before silly, hugs make feel better." Lana told him jovially.

"And I never saw someone in need of one more than you." Luan joked, but she was sincere, Taylor needed someone to show him that they sympathized with his plight. Taylor mumbled grumpily, but nonetheless he didn't protest anymore.

"Aw isn't this heart warming." Lynn suddenly appeared, leaning against their seat. Taylor snarled at her and broke out of the embrace.

"Stop enjoying my mysery." he complained. Lynn giggled.

"What misery? You seemed pretty happy when I hugged you." she said teasingly while punching him in the shoulder. He was barely fazed by it and instead he smirked slyly at her.

"Well that's a different story Lynn. For a guy like me it's a rare privilege to get close and comfy with a lovely beauty such as yourself." at that remark Lynn stumbled back while blushing a deep crimson red. Taylor smirked with satisfaction, knowing he made her feel uncomfortable.

"Blew! I think I'm gonna blow chunks." Lana gagged with revolt while Luan giggled giddily.

"Don`t be rude Lana, I think we should give those two some personal space." she barely contained her laughter, while Lynn`s face grew even more red.

"Shut your trap, or I'll..."

"Oh I think your sister has the right idea." Taylor cut her off while twitching his eyebrows at her suggestively. In no time he earned a smack on the head.

"You stay out of it!" Lynn snarled at him.

"Oh that's the clincher sis, those who fight each other the most, love each other the most!" Luan laughed harder than ever before on this weekend. Now boiling mad, Lynn lunged at her, but Taylor blocked her path with his arm.

"You know, it would be easier for all of us if you just kissed me and proved her right." he teased her to. Immediately, the enraged Lynn grabbed his shirt and pressed him against his seat.

"Okay, sheesh, chill, will ya? I was just kidding!" he exclaimed while holding his hands up. Then they heard Lana yawning and Lynn let him go.

"Aw looks like someone's getting sleepy." Luan observed. Lana rubbed her eyes and frowned.

"No way! I ain't hitting the hay now, we still have to..." she was cut by another involuntary yawn. Luan and Lynn looked out of the window and saw that it was already nighttime.

Calming herself, Lynn voiced her agreement "She`s right, it's late already and we gotta preserve all the strength we have..." she turned towards the lonesome Lucy "...come Luce, it's time to prepare your bed."

...

A pair of seats had been pulled out and served as a bed for Lisa, Lana and Lucy, all huddled together under one blanket. It wasn't the most comfortable of conditions, but the three youngsters could at least spend the night somewhere warm and cozy, which was more than the older kids could say. Luan and Lynn tried their best to make their little sisters comfortable for the night, as comfortable as they could possibly get given the circumstances. Lisa was already asleep, and Lana was on the verge of it, but Lucy was another story. Sleep was the last thing on her mind, as the fear of the wolf returning still haunted her every waking thought.

Lana, lying in the middle, yawned "Luan how's Lincoln?" she asked sleepily. The teen swallowed a lump and gazed back at her brother, they had just checked on him and he was still with them, but showed no signs of waking up, his older sisters could only pray at this point that he would still be alive in the morning.

"He`s...he`s alright, don't you worry." she forced a smile and tried not to choke on her words, she gave Lana a good night kiss and the little tomboy was starting to drift off. Lucy, on the other hand, had her eyes wide open and Luan could see the fear and distress in them. She tried to give her some reassurance.

"Lucy, don't worry, the wolf`s long gone and I doubt he`ll come back in this weather...", Lucy looked up at her, finally, after a long time, she found her voice.

"I`m scared..." she said in very hoarse tone and sniffed "...he`ll return when we're asleep..."

"He won't, but don't worry, we`ll be keeping a watch, Taylor said he would do it all night if he has to."

"I don't trust him.." Lucy muttered bitterly "...what if he abandons us while we're sleeping?", sighting Luan gently stroked her face to calm her.

"He won't, he gave us his promise and he wouldn't back out of it..."

Lucy also felt Lana wrapping her arm around her under the blanket, "Tayor isn't a bad guy, he`s good, I know it Lucy. He`ll protect us.", Lana sounded very convinced in what she was saying, but Lucy was hesitant to believe it. A bully couldn't possibly just change overnight, as far as the 7 year old understood they were bad to the core.

"Lana`s right, I really think him and us have reached an understanding, and having him here is a good thing..." Luan told them while continuing to try and ease them to sleep. Taylor meanwhile had been listening to their conversation.

"Nice to know that the little brat has so much faith in me..." he deadpaned to Lynn from the passenger seat, while they were both looking out the window.

"Give her some slack, she's just a kid and just went trough a horrible ordeal, besides you didn't give her a whole lot of reason to think otherwise..." Lynn retorted calmly from the driver seat. Taylor was about to argue that him wrestling a wolf to save their assess should have been enough reason to think otherwise, but decided to let it go. Besides, the bitter cold that was bitting into his skin gave him something else to complain about. His empty, growling stomach was another pain, but the girls made it clear that all their food was left in the tents and they were no better off than him.

"Whatever..." he spat out while hugging himself for warmth before letting out a loud sneeze "...are you sure there aren't any more blankets in here?" he asked nasally while wiping his nose.

"I told you already, there are only two, and unless you wanna sink so low as stealing the blanket from a bunch of little girls or a boy who's in a coma, you'll just have to deal with it." she told him sternly. Instead of replying Taylor shifted his gaze towards the tents outside, two of which were wrecked. He was starting to get the idea of doing something potentially dangerous, but the longer he had to sit here and freeze his ass off, the more inviting did this idea become.

"You know...I could try to make a quick run to the tents and fetch a few more blankets?...And maybe some snacks as well? " he thought out loud with eagerness. Lynn immediately tensed upon hearing this and grabbed his arm tightly.

"Don`t you even think about it!" she snapped at him and gave him a vicious glare. Taylor wasn't so easily dissuaded however.

"Why not? It will only take a few minutes and I'll take that bear recording in case the mutt shows up. Do you want to spend all night freezing and starving to death?" he argued.

"I`d rather go trough that than let someone die." she said quietly before letting him go. After a moment of silence, she looked at him, but she didn't look angry, she looked concerned and sighed.

"Taylor, please, if not for your sake then for mine, promise me you'll stay put...I don't want...to see anyone die... " her tone was almost pleading, which was a surprise to the boy, either way the pleading and concerned vibe she was giving him was enough to turn his stubborn mindset around.

"Alright, I promise..." he mumbled reluctantly. After that he could have sworn that he saw a look of relief passing trough Lynn`s expression. After a few more minutes of silence, she asked him something else.

"Have you thought about what we could do to get dad back, cuz I got nothing..."

"I did, did you bring any rope by any chance?", Lynn thought for a moment before remembering.

"Yes, I remember seeing a big coil of it in the trunk of the van while packing..." after hearing that Taylor gave her a small smile.

"Good, then this is what we're gonna do. When the coast is clear in the morning, I`ll go find your dad and pull him out, you girls stay here."

"That`s the best plan you could come up with?" she asked in disbelief. Taylor sent her an annoyed glare.

"If you were expecting me to build a helicopter to airlift your old man out of the pit then sorry to disappoint ya..." he replied sarcastically before looking away from her again "... but in case you failed to notice, when don't have a lot of options here, this one might be dangerous, but it's the best we can do."

He was right, Lynn realized, there weren't any better options, not with them having no phone service thanks to her absent mindedness, and with her brother having little time left they had to act quickly. But her siblings would`t be forced into any more danger, still feeling responsible to an extent about their predicament, Lynn made up her mind. She felt afraid of doing it, for good reason, but her concern for her brother and the rest of her family overruled that.

"You`re right, but I'm coming with you..." Taylor`s eyes went wide upon hearing that.

"Lynn, I won't let you put yourself in danger..." he said sternly as he turned towards her. Lynn was unmoved and glared at him

"Please, spare me your stupid chivalry, you can't do this at yourself, you're injured and you're still limping, if that wolf attacks you you'll be done for, while the rest of us will be stuck back at square one. Together we stand a better chance, and this is my father we`re talking about, my family, my brother who's lying there with his life **...** away. I`m not taking any chances with their wellbeing, so I'm coming along whether you like it or not!"

Taylor knew there was no point in arguing with her, when Lynn had her mind made up few people could change it, certainly not him.

"Alright, if you wish so..." he sighed in defeat "...but I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." he added dejectedly.

"I know...and I`m scared of doing it..." Lynn admitted to him somberly "...but I have to, dad depends on me, so does Lincoln...", Taylor`s mind drifted to somewhere else and he grew agitated.

"Ugh! If we only had some way of dealing with that flee bitten cur! Some weapon, anything, anything better than a freaking recorder with bear noise..." he ranted in agitation. Lynn agreed on that sentiment, but she knew that her father most certainly hadn't hidden any riffle or such in their camp...

Suddenly they heard Luan scream, followed by Lucy.

"What the hell?!" Taylor blurted out as he and Lynn jumped out of their seats and saw the others all awake and huddled in Luan`s protective embrace, who was backing away with them. Right then, a flash of lighting illuminated the 6 foot tall figure that was leading against the window, it wiped down the fog of the glass with its large paw and looked at the girls with his yellow eye.

"What`s going on now?" a confused and irritated Lisa mumbled groggily after she was suddenly pulled out of bed by Lana and forced into a group hug. The four backed of fearfully into the other side of the van, until they were pressed against the wall, while the wolfs claws scrapped against the glass of the window and his breath fogged up the glass anew. Luan panted fearfully, while Lana and Lucy shook and whimpered in her arms.

Lynn rushed and crouched down in between them and the beast, glaring at him with anger and contempt, but beneath that her heart was pounding with fear as well. She felt someone taking her hand and turned to see Taylor crouching next to her and giving her a silent and reassuring look. They both looked back at the drenched canine who was eyeing the huddled group, the kids were filled with fear and anticipation as the wolfs massive paws tapped and scratched against the glass.

"I really hope he doesn't figure out that the invisible wall is breakable." Taylor whispered a morbid joke and Lynn jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow out of annoyance. Suddenly the wolf jumped up and the kids all rose to their feet as they heard him walking across the roof of the van. He jumped off and landed on the oposite side, causing the girls to scramble back after he appeared on the window right behind them.

"You`re a stubborn one aren't you?" they heard Taylor talking to the animal and to everyones surprise he started slowly walking towards the wolf. The animal lowered his ears and started omitting a low, throaty growl as the boy edged closer to him with steely look.

"You won't rest till you're gorging yourself on one of us, huh?..." he asked him coldly, Lucy and Lana both shuddered and whimpered upon hearing that. Taylor kept eye contact with the animal and slowly moved his hand towards the window.

"Well, you can forget about it, not on my watch..." Taylor sneered at him and tapped the glass with his knuckles. The wolf suddenly bore his teeth and let out several loud barks, Taylor moved back, but kept his stoic demeanor, Lynn moved to his side while hearing her younger sisters crying.

"What are you doing? Don't get him pissed off now." she angrily whispered to him.

"That won't matter, he has set his sights on us. We`re his prey." Taylor told her coldy when suddenly, the wolf started shaking himself dry and dropped down on all fours, out of the kids sight. After some hesitance, Taylor and Lynn moved foward and looked trough the window.

A heavy fog had formed around the beach, that, coupled with the heavy rain and the darkness of the night made visibility close to zero, but the wolf clearly was no longer in front of the van and they saw no signs of him anymore.

"Is he gone?" Lynn asked Taylor worriedly.

"For now." he answered, his face grimacing.

...

Hours passed like minutes, as Lynn and Luan struggled to calm their little sisters from their collective shock, even Lisa was growing dowright histerical. By the time they had gotten them all into bed it was already midnight. Not that any of them felt sleepy at this point.

"I knew he would come back...it`s inevitable now...we`re doomed. We can't avoid our grim destiny for much longer..." a shaken Lucy mumbled, huddled between Lana and Lisa.

"Lucy...please...we`ll think of something..." Luan stumbled over her words, desperately trying to calm them down. As she continued, Lucy sent her a death glare.

"Stop lying, I`m tired of your...grown up lies, we all know things won't turn out well this time..." she spoke calmly, but her voice also bore a strong undertone of rage, yet at the same time she was starting to choke on her words, as she was trying to face herself with their fate.

"We won't get out of this mess, not this one..." tears formed in her eyes "...we`ll die...we`ll all die here..." her voice turned cold and lifeless, showing how she had lost any shred of hope. Luan was shocked by her words, as was Lana who slowly started sobbing.

"I must concur, statistics don't lie..." Lisa spoke up, but her voice was garbled as she was on the verge of crying "... the probability of our survival is decreasing by the second..."

"Alright! That's enough out of you! We will make it out of this!" Lynn snapped at them.

"Excuse me for not believing you... _football brain_..." Lucy mumbled bitterly.

"What did you call me!" Lynn grew more agitated.

"It doesn't matter..." the goth mumbled dejectedly "...nothing matters for the soon to be dead." she finished and hid herself underneath the blanket. Luan urged Lynn to stay calm, and they heard Lucy sobbing under the blanket, the other youngsters did as well. The older sisters quickly gave them a hug.

Taylor watched them from a distance, but his mind was elsewhere and raicing. Those little brats were right, he and Lynn couldn't simply walk out and and fetch the Louds father, the wolf would get them both. If only he could think of something to turn the odds. Then, as his aimlessly gaze scanned his surroundings, he noticed something sandwiched at the floor between the passenger seat and the one behind it.

" _What's that?_ " Taylor kneeled down and pulled out a picnic basket. He quickly frowned, it was nothing useful, but hey, he reasoned, they were all half starved and maybe some food would help calm things down...and help him think clearer.

"Now which one of you ladies put this little pickenick basket here." Lynn and Luan looked to see Taylor holding the aforementioned basket.

"What? Where did you find that?" Lynn asked him. Taylor shrugged.

"Right here in the van, meaning you guys were hiding this little snack storage from me." he joked.

"I left it there." they all turned to the small voice, belonging to Lana. The 5 year old wiped tears from her eyes and rose up from her group bed.

"I wanted to surprise you guys, so I snuck a cake in that basket..." she explained solemnly. The other siblings looked at each other awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"That...eh was very kind of you Lana..." Luan spoke up, trying to sound more chipper "...maybe some cake could help lift everybodys spirit a bit..." the little blond smiled at her, but the other sisters, including Lucy, who peaked from under the blanket, only gave her odd looks.

"...right girls?" the comedian asked awkwardly.

"YESSS!" they all twitched in surprise as Taylor shouted suddenly and excitedly. They saw him holding the basket open with an unsettlingly happy look on his face.

"Now this is what we were looking for." the girls felt confused by his sudden exuberance as he tried to pull something out of the basket.

"Eh does the cake look _that_ appetizing?" Luan asked him, to which the boy chuckled exuberantly.

"Not the cake genius, I was admiring the beauty packed next to it..." he chuckled again and looked at Lana "...thanks to your surprise, we have just found the solution to our problem!" he finished by pulling out a large kitchen knife in his right hand. Luan gasped and glared at Lana.

"Lana! What were you thinking taking that thing, you could have cut yourself!" Taylor was admiring the knife, but soon rolled his eyes upon the comedians scolding.

"What? I wa`carefull with it, honest! You have to cut the cake with something." Lana defended herself. At that point Taylor had decided to cut in.

"Give Linda some slack tutz, if it weren`t for her sweet surprise we wouldn't have this!" he emphasized his point by showing them the knife, held high up and reflecting the lights from the vans roof.

The siblings were growing unnerved with Taylor`s demeanor while he was holding a knife, Luan instinctively drew the youngsters closer to her, but before she could ask anything Lynn got up and confronted Taylor.

"Could you possibly be a little more specific with what the hell you're talking about!" she stressed with annoyance. Taylor looked at her and his face once again darkened.

"It very simple Lynn, we can't go out or do anything while thar wolf is still lurking around, the longer we stay here trapped like rats, the lesser our chances of survival are, especially for him..." he motioned towards Lincoln. All the sisters looked at their unconscious brother, who was barely clinging on to life.

"That wolf is the only thing keeping us from reaching safety and getting help..." Taylor explained with a steely tone "...so there's only one option left."

Lynn turned back to face him, wearing a look of suspicion, "And what's that option?" she asked carefully.

"This." Taylor said calmly while stroking his finger across the blunt side of the knife. Lynn remained puzzled.

"This will be our solution...to end this crap once and for all." Lynn started feeling a chill running down her spine.

" _He`s not thinking...no..._ "

"Wha...what do you want to do..." Lynn asked him, a painful feeling of dread gnawing on her inside, as she was dearly hopping that Taylor wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking.

"Kill the wolf."

...

 **And Taylor may have finally gone off the deep end, his reckless is being pushed to it's maximum, just as he and the Louds were reaching an understanding. What will happen to them, what will happen to poor comatosed Lincoln, let alone Lynn Sr? Find out next chapter...**


	10. Final Confrontation

"Kill the wolf." , Taylor gave his eerily casual response. The other occupants of the van went completely silent. Lynn blinked at him in, stunned and in utter disbelief, before narrowing her eyes.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"I`m gonna end this once and for all, kill the wolf." the boy repeated calmly while stroking the knife. The jock was once again stunned into silence, before her anger and disbelief resurfaced.

"You can't be serious?" she asked him desperately. She locked eyes with him, hoping to see some kind of sign that he was making a sick joke, but Taylor`s steely gaze gave away nothing but stubborn determination.

"As serious as a wolf attack." he replied with the most obvious metaphor, his tone firmly lacking any sign of sarcasm.

"Taylor! That's suicidal!" Luan suddenly shouted at him. He turned to face her, his expression still stoic and hardened.

"Yes, yes it is..." he agreed immediately and wholeheartedly, though his tone showed annoyance at having to point out the obvious, "...but the way I see it, there ain`t no other option sweetheart. It`s him or us." he finished coldly. Lynn grabbed his arm and Taylor faced her again and exhaled bitterly.

"Can we please skip the part where you beg me not to do it? It won't get anything accomplished." he dryly answered in advance.

"Have you lost your freaking mind!" she growled at him, Taylor snorted lightly.

"Well I dunno, I`m not sure how sane I was to begin with." he quipped halfheartedly.

"Be serious you idiot!" she snapped, but Taylor didn't even flinch.

"I`ve never been more serious." he answered plainly, already growing tired of this.

"Are you even listening to yourself? You saw that thing! It will kill you!" she yelled at him aggressively. Taylor pulled his arm free and glared at her.

"It probably will. But the point is that I will take him down with me, that's what matters." Lynn grew a face of shock, she grabbed his hand, but to his surprise, her grip was a lot more gentle this time around.

"Taylor, please, you don't have to do this, we can think of something else..." she said to him in a pleading tone and gave him a sorrowful look. It filled Taylor with regret to see her like this, but in his mind there was no alternative at this point. He pulled his hand free, sighed and shook his head dejectedly.

"We can't think of anything else, not when _his_ time is ticking away..." Taylor said bluntly as he motioned towards Lincoln. All the sisters looked at him sadly, including Lynn, who felt her heart crumbling apart and struggled not to tear up as she thought about how her little brother could pass away at any second.

"...every second we waste sitting around brings him closer to his date with the Grim Repear, at this point I`m certain he won't live to see the sun rising, unless we do something right now." Taylor finished harshly, the sisters once again turned quiet, the boy saw the devastated look on Lynn`s face, but there was nothing that could say or do to change that.

Sighing again, he moved past her and moved to look out of the window, on his way he caught a glimpse of Lana`s and Luan`s saddened looks, they didn't want him to do this either, but he wouldn't let anyone stop him from doing what had to be done. He had to play the hero again, he was the only one capable enough, or crazy and reckless enough, to put an end to this.

"Taylor...please don't do this...I don't want ya to..." he heard Lana choking on her words and looked down to see the teary eyed little girl looking at him. Unable to bare her pleading look, Taylor tore his gaze back towards the forest.

"There`s no other way, if I don't do it you're brother will be dead by tomorrow..." he told her bluntly but calmly "...and even more so, staying here won't do us any good...not while that wolf is keeping us prisoners here, if you think he`ll get bored and leave soon you're sadly mistaken..."

"And how do you know he won't?" Taylor heard Lynn`s voice, she sounded angry and challenging, but also unsure of herself. Taylor didn't shift his gaze away from the woods, but he answered her anyway.

"Because he's too desperate for that." Taylor explained matter of factly, the sister were all confused by his response.

"What do you mean "too desperate"?" Lynn raised an eye brow, Taylor rolled his eyes.

"I mean he`s starving and desperate to eat." Taylor elaborated, with a hint of annoyance. The sisters weren't following.

"How do you know that?" Lana asked him innocently. Sighing, the annoyed Taylor sat down on the nearest seat and elaborated further.

"It`s elementary squirt, besides the obvious fact that animals _hunt_ when they`re _hungry_ , this pooch I can tell isn't merely hungry, he`s starving and desperate. See, while you were all busy mopping, I was thinking about how to deal with our problem and on the way it quickly hit me why ol`one eye is so persistent with trying to get to us. Why, haven't you heard about how wolves are usually afraid of people?" the sisters all looked at each other, unsure about what Taylor was getting at, until Lynn finally responded.

"Eh...yes we have, but that's obviously not true." she said contemptuously.

"Oh no, it's very true, wolves don't like messing with people, sure lions like snacking on us, crocs love chomping down on human flesh, hippos enjoy tearing people to bits just to let out some steam..." Taylor stopped elaborating on it as he noticed a visibly frightened Lana backing away towards Luan "...eh, anyway, but wolves, nah, they're smart enough to know that pissing of man will only lead to hundreds of their brethren being filled with bullets. Unless we're talking about special circumstances.

"What "specil circumstances"?" Luan asked confusingly.

"Easy, have you noticed that this wolf is missing something?" Taylor stated plainly.

"Missing what? An eye?" Lynn responded with aggravation.

"Wrong! Try again." the boy quipped smugly. Meamwhile Lana thought long and hard about the question, until it hit her.

"A pack?" she answerd and Taylor gave her a slow clapp.

"Bingo! Wolves need their pack to hunt and survive, on their own they don't do so well. And didn't you mention how there weren't supposed to be any wolves around these parts?"

"Eh...yes? What are you trying to say?" Luan asked. Any amusement Taylor felt lecturing them and playing guess games was gone, and his face darkened.

"I`m saying that all of that points towards the true danger we`re in. Our furry friend is a rouge! A lone wanderer exploring new territory, looking for a pack and struggling to find food. Next to rabies, a starving rouge is the most dangerous kind of wolf you can encounter, they're desperate, which makes them reckless. And conveniently, the only adult in your "heard" has been put out of action, leaving a whole buffet of hapless children, nearly all girls at that, unguarded and fresh for picking. All that's left for him is to open this big tin can."

"How do you know all that crap?" Lynn demanded. Taylor gave her a light smirk.

"I know a thing or two about animals, comes with the territory when you're from South Africa. Plus it's handy to know that stuff if you wanna be an outdoors man." before Lynn could respond, Luan cut in.

"Wait? So are you implying that this wolf is keeping us like prisoners here? Until one of us gets out?" the comedian asked worryingly. Taylor nodded his head.

"I`m not suggesting it. That _is_ what's happening. He knows it's only a matter of time till one of us runs out, and a hungry predator has all the time in the world. Provided he doesn't figure out how glass works first."

"That`s bullshit! It's just a dumb animal! No way is he holding us trapped here!" Lynn argued angrily. Taylor sneered at her.

"Believe what ever you want, it won't matter when he gets to dismember one of us and..." a sudden flickering of the lights cut him midsentence, the kids saw the inside lights flickering until the van turned pitch dark. The youngsters started freaking out while Lynn swiftly stood up on one seat, trying to turn the lights on the roof back on, but to no avail.

"Dammit! There must be some short circut or something!" she cursed frustratingly before getting down. It wasn`t long before their eyes adjusted to the dark, allowing them to make out their surroundings a little better, which eventually helped Luan find the flashlight she had stored within the vehicle.

"Don`t worry girls, I`ve got this." she turned it on, the rest gathered around her, minus Taylor.

"Quick thinking there Lu." Lynn complimented her.

"This is not good." they heard Taylor talking to no one in particular.

"What now?" Lynn rushed towards him and joined him by the window. She noticed how it had stopped raining.

"This is bad, without the storm and with our car lights being busted, this will only encourage him to come back sooner." Taylor lamented.

"Do you see any sign of him?" Lynn asked him worryingly, Taylor scanned the nightly landscape, looking for any movement or glowing sighed frustratingly.

"Nothing so far, but I have a bad feeling that he's..."

Suddenly they heard the sound of pounding followed by a crack, glass cracking!

They instantly rushed back to the others, with Taylor clutching his knife tightly, the rest of the sisters were likewise scared or confused.

"What happened?" Lynn asked them while looking everywhere. Huddling the youngsters, Luan answered.

" I don't know, I think it came fro..."

"There!" the jock pointed at back window, right above Lincoln, which now sported a crack splitting it in two, with mudd smeared on it.

" _He`s here_." Taylor knew the time had come, "Alright! All of you! Stand behind me!" he barked his orders at them, when suddenly they heard the sound o something hitting the hood of the van. Luan flashed her light in that direction and most of the girls collectively screamed.

Illuminated in full detail was the wolfs face, his coarse dark fur, black nose, yellow,glowing eye and the other damaged one, as well as his maw of shiny white fangs which he bared at them as the light blinded him. Struck with fear, Luan accidentally lowered the light and the wolf rose from his crouching position and tried digging trough the front window, his claws scratching against the glass.

The kids all backed into the corner, they younger ones cried and whimpered behind Luan, while Lynn stood protectively in front of them, flanked by the knife wielding Taylor. Their collective hearts all pumped with fear as the wolf started pressing both paws against the glass to push it down.

Sweeting heavily Taylor panted out his orders "Lynn...grab the pipsqueak and you all get the hell out of the vanfor it...I`ll keep him occupied."

"And leave you to die...fat chance!" she panted back aggressively. Taylor grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Will you just fucking listen to me!" suddenly they heard the glass shattering, the wolf yelped and backed away in surprise after the transparent wall crumbled beneath his paws, but he soon realized that he had made a new entrance and moved foward.

The black beast moved past the broken glass and landed between the two rows of seats, his ebony fur shining in the moon light and his one yellow eyes directed at the kids. Panting, he advanced towards them, slightly hindered by moving his large body trough the narrow passage.

Trembling with fear, Lynn heard her little sisters crying like never before, but Taylor let out an enraged growl and breathed like an enraged animal.

"You wanna fight! I`ll give ya a fight!" the boy cried and without hesitation charged at the wolf, who reacted by lunging at him. With unhinged fury, Taylor slashed the animal across the muzzle, the wolf yelped and jumped back. Not wasting a second Taylor tackled the wolf, but in the dim light missed his target and stabbed the beast in the shoulder. Yelping in pain the wolf used the momentum to throw his attacker off and over him. Taylor slamming against the floor but didn`t let go of his knife.

While he shook his bruised and aching head the wolf turned towards the sisters. The little ones cried as he charged towards them, Lynn instinctively yelled "Luan, the flashlight!"

Not needing to be told twice Luan flashed her lights into the wolves eyes, blinding and disorienting him for a second. Lynn swiftly pulled two seat cushions, which were connected, a used them as a shield to hold of the attacking wolf. It didn't last long, as the wolf ripped them out of her grasp and shook it violently until they were emptied of all of the stuffing.

The youngsters cried and screamed and huddled around their unconscious brother, while Luan quickly tried to blind the wolf with her flashlight again.

Right then, Taylor gave him a hard kick to the rear, diverting the wolfs attention back on him. The beast snarled at him and he snarled back.

"Forget about them! You ain't done with me!" he screamed and swung his knife at the attacking canine. He slashed him across the muzzle again and then across the face, but couldn't reach his throat. Suddenly the wolf lunged and sank his teeth into Taylor`s left arm, pulling him downwards. Sreaming in agony Taylor stabbed the wolf into the shoulder, making him rip trough Taylor`s arm flesh until he clamped his jaws around his hand. Using his own arm to block the wolf, Taylor let him bite into his hand while trying to stab his throat, but the pressure on his hand quickly intensified.

"Luan..." Lynn screamed between breaths "...help me grab a blanket!", they suddenly heard a sickening crunch followed instantly by a poop. Taylor let out a blood curdling, agonizing scream that echoed trough the van. His knife hit the floor and the boy stumbled back, shaking and clutching his left hand. Sweating and trembling, he collapsed to his knees, the pain in his hand was overwhelming. The wolf charged at him, and started biting and tearing into his left leg, but suddenly he had a blanket pulled over his head and collapsed as both Lynn and Luan piled on him.

"Grab the knife!" Lynn cried at Taylor as she and her sister desperately tried to hold the animal down. Taylor crawled towards the knife, struggling to find it in the dark, while the wolf pulled himself up and threw the girls of. Lynn landed behind him, hitting her head against the floor, while Luan fell between him and the seats and hit her head against wolf tore the blanket of him and instinctively turned around, the first thing he saw was Lynn on the ground.

Before she knew what was happening, sharp teeth clamped against her chest and shook her like a ragdoll, but the agonizing pain barely lasted long before the wolf abruptly dropped her and frantically yelped in pain. Lynn caught a glimpse of Taylor stabbing the wolf deeply into his hindquarter.

Filled with pain the wolf jumped on his back legs, but in the process he banged his head against the roof of the van, as he fell backwards, Taylor, feeling pumped up with adrenaline, lunged and grabbed the wolf into an embrace, allowing the animal to fall on top of him. As they hit the floor the sound of gasping, slashing and blood squirting briefly filled the van, followed by subdued choking and whimpering before everything went deathly quiet.

Luan was the first to get up. Dizzy and disoriented, she stumbled trough the dark and first noticed her little sisters huddling around Lincoln. Next to them was Lynn, twitching and moaning on the floor. Luan instantly rushed towards her.

"Lynn! Lynn are you okay!" she shouted frantically while helping her sister get up.

"I`ll live..." Lynn mumbled while hissing and clutching her chest. She turned and saw her younger siblings all well, if terrified. She felt relieved before turning her head back and seeing the wolf lying in front of them.

"Taylor! Where's Taylor." Lynn suddenly blurted out in a panic. Cautiously, she and Luan took the flashlight and examined the scene, the animal wasn't moving and underneath him they saw Taylor`s arms and legs sticking out, he too seemed motionless. Feeling dread, Lynn kneeled down to find his head only to see something rising up.

It was Taylors right arm giving a thumbs up, " _I`m okay..._ " he rhasped, Lynn felt an overwhelming feeling of relief, but suddenly she flinched when she saw the wolf moving, his body twitched and he let out a low exhale trough his nostrils, followed by a longer one. After that, his entire body went limp. Daring to come closer, Luan moved her flashlight and saw the kitchen knife imbedded into the wolfs throat, next to it Taylor`s right arm was sprawled out resting and his face was a mere inch or to away from the wolfs limp head.

"Kay, enough gawking, can you please pull me out?" Taylor snarked while extending his right arm out. It took both Luan and Lynn to pull him out from beneath the large canine.

Once he was on his feet Taylor quickly clutched his left hand, only to receive a passionate hug from Lynn. Any feeling of pain Taylor felt prior was pushed back into the corner of his mind as he once again blushed and froze stiff.

"Thank heavens you're alright." Lynn said feebly. Once he finally managed to form coherent thoughts again Taylor shook himself out of his trance and gently tapped her on the shoulder with his good hand.

"It was no biggie..." he tried to sound casual. Right then, Luan hugged him too.

"It over, I can't believe it!It`s over!" she cried tears of joy and relief after shooting a glance at the lifeless animal. After what had seemed like an eternity they all could relax, they were safe.

...

Since it was still summer, the morning sun came relatively quickly, by 4:30 am, the cloud had cleared up and light once again shone upon the wilderness around the lake, but it also revealed the wrecked campsite and the shattered window of van. Inside of the vehicle, lying on it's floor, mesuring nearly 7 feet from nose to the tip of his tail was a wolf, the motionless corpse of a once mighty predator that perished on his final hunt.

Trying to ignore the dead beast, which was starting to attract flies and a few vultures and coyotes hidding in the nearby woods, the sisters checked their comatosed brother and his now very faint breathing, they had to go and save their lost father now. Lynn and Luan would be the ones going, strapping the rope around her shoulder Lynn and her sister were ready to depart, the rest would be watched over by Taylor, who was too weak to walk far with his torn leg. He was currently sitting with Lana and had torn of one of his sleeves in order to use it to wrap his left hand with.

"What happened to your hand Taylor, can I see?" she asked with concern and tried to peak. Taylor jerked his wrapped hand away.

"No kid, it's...not a pretty sight, but don't worry I`ll be fine." he explained calmly. Luan called for Lana to join her and the others, and explained to the youngsters that Taylor would be watching them while her and Lynn would be away. The latter meanwhile came to check on Taylor.

"So, think you can handle those three while we`re away?" she asked with some levity." Taylor smirked haughtily.

"Please Lynn, I have slain a wolf on my own. I think I can handle three ankle bitters, especially when they're still scared stiff from last nights little incident." he said lightly. Lynn looked down at his wrapped arm.

"Okay then, but what happened to your arm, can I take a look?" upon her request the boy tensed up a bit.

"It`s nothing serious, it's nothing...really..." he replied nervously.

"Taylor, I know it's that's not true, can you please show me?" the concerned Lynn told and Taylor gave in.

"Alright, but I'm warning you, it's not a pretty sight..." he said glumly. Lynn sat down next to him and slowly unwrapped his hand, the sight was not pleasant and the jock had to suppress a gasp. Besides the deep gashes that ran down his hand, two of his fingers had visible, exposed bone along with dangling bits of skin and flesh, all covered in blood, and most shocking of all was the small bloody stump where his fifth digit should have been.

Taylor quickly covered the messy sight, "I told you it wasn't pretty." he told her dejectedly. The girl grimaced with shock.

"Look, don't bother the others about this, I`ll be okay, just go and get your dad, I`m sure the doctors will be able to fix me." he hastily whispered to her. Still shocked Lynn slowly nodded.

"Taylor...I`m sorry you..." she awkwardly started, but the boy just chuckled lightly.

"Don`t be, one pinky finger is a small price to pay for being alive." he replied, sounding genuinely happy and relieved, while wrapping his hand tight once again.

"Lynn, are you ready to go?" Luan suddenly approached them.

"She is..." Taylor answered for her "...now remember my instructions, and try not to fall down the hole yourself, we can't afford another rescue mission." he quipped and Luan rolled her eyes.

"Yeah very funny, just keep an eye on our sisters, come on Lynn...", the two eldest sisters soon exited the van, leaving Taylor alone with the youngsters. The siblings still needed to get their father back and still had to face the challenge of getting their brother back in time, but the worst and most horrifying part of this ordeal was definitely behind them.

...

For Lynn Sr the last 20 or so hours were unquestionably the most agonizing and horrifying experience in his life, one of his youngest children had disappeared and he went looking for her, only to stumble upon a wild beast that charged him and he only managed to escape it by accidentally dropping down a concealed pit. Miraculously he managed to get up from that fall with only heavy bruises, but the worst part of his experience had only just began. He was trapped, lacking any means to get out, but the truly horrifying part was the fear he felt for his children, the agonizing knowledge that they were out there alone with a wolf that could attack them at any moment, not to mention that Lana was still missing and her father now had reason to believe that she could be dead.

Looked in natures solitude, Lynn was left to just sit there and endure this maddening experience, by the time the downpour had arrived he barely even noticed it, as he was sitting curled up on the verge of a mental break down for the entire night. But then, at crack of dawn he was finally relived of his torment when two of his daughters arrived above to help him out. His joy was short lived however, as his worst fears were quickly confirmed. Upon learning this, Lynn wasted no time raicing back to the campsite, which he found wrecked, the windows on his van smashed, and most surprisingly of all, Taylor, the bully who had tormented his kids not long ago, was inexplicably there, guarding his youngest daughters next to a dead wolf, the very same one who had chased him into the pit.

Any question Lynn had racing trough his mind, and there were a lot, were instantly pushed aside when saw the condition his only son was in, and the various injuries his daughters had suffered, of which Lucy was the worst. That day Lynn sped on the road back to civilization like never before.

Back in Royal Woods, the group arrived at the local hospital. For a quiet town, that rarely saw terrible accidents that warranted serious medical attention the staff experienced various levels of shock and surprise when five children were all simultaneously admitted at the hospital in the morning hours, all the victims of a wolf attack. The kids were quickly separated to be treated, all five required stitching, the girls got off easy all things considered, having only localized wounds that were cleaned and sewed up relatively quickly. The two boys however were a different story, besides requiring a lot more stitches, Lincoln needed a blood transfusion, and Taylor needed further surgery to fix his mangled hand.

Lynn Sr could do little but wait, along with Lana and time on their hands, Lana`s broken arm was examined, and although she lost her cast a two days early, scans showed that her arm bones had properly healed, and they found someone who could lend Lisa some spare glasses. For the genius being able to finally see the world clearly almost felt like an act of mercy after two days of perpetual blindness. Lynn, Luan and Lucy reunited with their family rather quickly and while they waited for news on Lincoln, the girls told their father about what had happened, including the parts he would rather not have wanted to know. The part about Taylor were especially hard to believe, though Lynn couldn't decide which part was harder to believe : a 12 year old successfully killing a wolf with just a knife or that this punk willingly put himself at risk to protect Lynn`s children. The man was left feeling an od mixture of disdain and gratitude to the boy.

At long last, they heard the good news, Lincoln`s condition had been stabilized and he had been prognosed to recover. The sisters were overjoyed and rushed to see him.

...

"Okay girls remember to stay calm and gentle when you approach him, he`s been trough a lot, so don't try to strangle him hugs or anything like that." Lynn warned his daughters and they all nodded when they were about to enter the infirmary where their brother was cared for. Unfortunately, given his condition he would have to stay in the hospital for the night, until doctors were confident that he could be returned home, and visiting hours were nearly over.

Lynn decided that he would approach his son first and entered, to his relief he saw that Lincoln had his eyes open and when he turned his head to see his father, his face was happy and relaxed, showing no sign of pain or stress.

"Hello son." Lynn said warmly as sat next to Lincoln`s bed.

"Dad? You're all right..." Lincoln smiled weakly.

"A little bruised, but otherwise in tip top shape, how are you feeling Lincoln?"

"I`m fine dad, but what happened, where are my sisters..." the boy responded in small voice, with a hint of anxiety, his memory felt blurry at the moment. Lynn noticed it and was quick to reassure his son.

"They`re all here at the hospital, you were unconscious for a while and you lost a lot of blood, but they gave you a blood transfusion and stitched up all your wounds. Your sisters have also been treated, Lucy, Lynn and Luan were all bitten badly during the attack, but they were all treated, and Lisa and Lana were unharmed, and now they`re waiting to see you."

"Can they come now?" the boy asked and Lynn called the girls in. They came in quietly and surrounded his bed.

"Hey girls..." Lincoln rhasped, trying to sound relaxed and casual. The girls all smiled warmly at him and greeted him. It was Lucy who then came closer to her brother and gently embraced him. Lincoln heard her lightly sniffing and hugged her back.

"Why you crying Lucy..." he asked her.

"You almost died because of me. I`m sorry, I`m so sorry Lincoln, I love you..." the goth sobbed and her words quickly jolted Lincoln`s memory. He mentally shuddered at the painful recollection, but composed himself quickly.

"Lucy you have nothing to be sorry about, you're my sister and I would gladly do it all over again to protect you or any of our family..." Lincoln replied as firmly as he could while embracing the sobbing Lucy. Their father placed a comforting hand on Lucy`s shoulder while looking at his son.

"I heard what you did for Lucy, that was very brave son and I'm proud of you. All of you. When things seemed hopeless you all stood by each other like a family should."

Lynn came closer to her brother, not wanting to disturb Lucy, she scruffed his hair up playfully "Dads right, I take back all those times I ever called you a wuss."

Lana climbed onto the bed from the other side and hugged her brother too "I`m so glad you're alright Linc, I promise I`ll never wander off on my own and make you guys worry."

Lynn Sr remembered that, he had thought about grounding her, but felt that the traumatic ordeal she had to go trough was punishment enough and had taught her a lesson.

Meanwhile Taylor mumbled to himself miserably as he sat in a wheelchair which was moved by a nurse trough the hallway. His left arm was in cast and sling, he had stitches everywhere, including his face and he carried a crutch with him. His family had been called and informed about his accident and with no other option he fessed up about what he had been doing and, to put it lightly, his folks didn't respond well to it. He was grounded for a month and was relieved of his privileges for a while, the only positive he could hope for was that he was hurt bad enough to get some time away from school.

Taylor stopped pitying himself when he heard a host of familiar voice, "Stop, there they are, they`ll be driving me home." he told the nurse tiredly.

"Oh, they`re you friends, right?" she asked him. Taylor wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Eh... _yes_?" he answered with uncertainty.

"Do you wish to see the boy?" she asked him kindly. Taylor shook his head.

"Nah, I don't want do barge in on their family reunion, I`ll just wait for them here." Taylor replied, figuring he was the last thing Lincoln needed to see after waking up from coma. It didn't stop him from eavesdropping on the Louds conversation however.

"Brother, it brings me great solace to know that your circulatory system is functioning normally again." he heard the lispy voiced toddler. Next he heard Luan talking.

"Watching you in a coma was the scariest moment in my life, wolf or no wolf. Words cannot describe how relieved I am to see you awake again after all that horror."

"Yes, I don't know what any of us would have done if you..." Lynn started but stopped to sniff and wipe her eye. Lincoln smiled feebly while nearly being hugged to death by his little sisters.

"Don`t cry Lynn, I`m okay now and that's what matters..." he responded weakly "...we all made it and our family is still whole." memories of the horrific incident still kept flashing before his eyes, but seeing his sisters and father all alive and well gave him great relief. Everyone else shared that sentiment.

Lynn smiled at him, while Luan turned away to wipe her tears, "You're right Linc, I don't care what kind of hell I would have to go trough, having my family return safe and sound makes it worth it." she moved forward and joined sisters in hugging Lincoln, Luan soon followed.

Outside the infirmary, Taylor leaned back into his wheelchair and his lips curved slightly upwards, feeling a strange kind of satisfaction. He wasn't quiet sure why, he had gained nothing, in fact he lost quite a bit : his cap, a finger, several belongings and his freedom for the following month, on top of getting mangled by a wild animal, and yet hearing the Louds joyful reunion made him feel a certain amount of happiness. It's because he played a role in making that reunion possible, he helped them survive trough a terrible ordeal, he made sure that none of them had to lose one of their loved ones.

" _Guess I finally did something right, I helped others...and that actually feels pretty good..._." he thought with satisfaction _"...and I even made it trough myself, no stupid heroic sacrifices, guess the universe was still willing to smile on me_."

Lynn watched his children, smiling until he took a look at his wrist watch and realized that visiting hours were nearly over. He sighed sadly.

"Okay kids, I`m afraid we`ll have to be going, visiting hours are nearly up..." he saw all the girls looking at him hurt and disheartened, Lynn himself wasn't keen on leaving his son behind but they had to "...and Lincoln you're going to have to stay here for the night, I`ll pick you up tomorrow."

His son looked at him understandably " I know about that, and I'll be fine..." he replied calmly.

"This isn't fair. Can't one of us stay with him?" Lucy spoke up, still clinging to her brother.

"I`m afraid not Lucy, we have to obey the rules and the rest of you are all fit to return home..." their father explained to them sadly. Lincoln turned to face the goth.

"I`ll be fine Lucy, it's just one night, I`ll be back home in no time. You guys should go and rest, you deserve that after everything you went trough..." Lucy didn't say anything and sadly hugged her brother farewell.

Outside, Taylor heard the family saying their goodbyes to Lincoln before finally heading out. He decided to reveal his presence.

"Bout time you guys showed up..." he snarked and the family abruptly turned to face him.

"Taylor, you're alright!" Lana replied happily and was the first to come and greet him.

"Pffff nothing can keep me down kid." he replied lightheartedly to the toddler. Lynn approached them and Taylor smirked casually at her.

"So I take it the pipsqueak is going to pull trough?" he asked her, already knowing the answer.

Lynn ignored the nickname and gave him a friendly look "He will, and how are you doing?", Taylor leaned back and shrugged.

"Lousy. I lost my cap, my phone, a finger, I`m all in stitches but I ain't got nothing to laugh about and my folks will put me on home lockdown for a month. But hey, I`m still alive, that's something, I guess?"

"They grounded you for a month?..." Lana asked in surprise "...but that's not fair, you are a hero! Not a bad guy." she said sympathetically. Taylor blinked in surprise.

"Hero? Well thanks for the compliment squirt, never been called that before."

"She`s right Taylor, after all you fought a freaking wolf to protect us. Even I admit that you were beyond brave and selfless." Looking at Lynn Taylor snickered halfheartedly.

"Funny you should say that, they initially only said three weeks, but after they heard about the "fightng a wolf" bit mom nearly fainted and then extended my sentence to a month.", Lynn deflated.

"Well I can't say that I don't see where they're coming from. You guys might not be so close, but they're still your parents and I can definitely relate to them. Seeing my family being attacked by that monster was the scariest experience in my life."

"So I take it you ain't gonna vouch for my pardon on behalf of my dashing heroics?" Taylor snarked at her.

"It still not fair..." Lana interrupted grumpily, crossing her arms, "...he`s a hero and got hurt real badly for it, and they punish him for it."

"I`m afraid it is fair Lana..." the girls father joined them and looked at Taylor sternly "...Taylor here lied to his parents, did something very irresponsible and put himself in life threatening danger as result. Not to mention his previous misbehavior. Now he has to face the consequences."

Lynn wasn't gonna argue with her father on that, part of her still felt some satisfaction that Taylor got what he got for his bullying, even seeing it as karmatic justice, but on the other hand she gladly wanted to remind her father of something else.

"Maybe dad. But if he hadn't done what he did, he wouldn't have been there to help us and we all might not be here right now..." she pointed out grimly "...he was the one that did the wolf in."

Before her father could respond, Taylor cut in "No Lynn, he`s right..." he said much to everyones surprise "...I made the bed and now I have to sleep in it." He looked at .

"Mr.L you truly are a responsible and devoted parent, firm but fair."

Lynn looked suspiciously at the boy, he couldn't tell if Taylor was being sincere, or sarcastic or just trying to suck up to him out of fear do to the past between him and Lynn`s kids. Frankly, Lynn didn't want to ponder about it, he just wanted to drop Taylor at his home and get him out of his and his kids hair. Not making any remark at Taylor`s compliment, he looked at his watch and told the kids that it was time to leave.

"Come on kids, it's getting late and we have to get home.", as he was leaving Taylor snorted quietly.

" _I see that he can't wait to get rid of me."_ he whispered to Lynn, who in return bumped her shoulder into his warningly.

...

Following Taylor`s direction, Lynn parked the van in front of the formers house. By the time they arrived it was already sunset. The siblings all looked at it trough the window.

"Wow this is where you live?" Lana marveled at the two story house in the middle of a cul-de-sac.

"Yep." Taylor casually confirmed.

"It certainly beats our crappy little apartment. I so envy you." Luan said, being given a sad reminder of when her family had better living conditions.

"It`s alright I guess, but I personally voted for the one with the view of the ocean." Taylor joked.

"Alright Taylor this is where you depart." Taylor quickly deduced from tone that the man really wanted him gone. He rolled his eyes while Lynn gave her father a glare.

"Sure, I wouldn't want to bother you guys more than I did..." he replied with faux politeness and grabbed his crutch. He knew the goth and fancy talking infant wouldn't care much about his departure either, so he ignored them and looked at Luan and Lana.

"I`m not one for long goodies, so see ya. And squirt, you stay out of trouble."

"I will, goodbye Taylor." Lana waved him with a smile.

"See ya, thanks for everything." the comedian added. Taylor gave a joking salute and shifted his gaze at Lynn.

"Hope to see you again after my sentence is over Lynn. So long." he finished and slowly and awkwardly limped out of the van with crutch. As soon as he stepped on the grass, he heard Lynn`s voice.

"Wait Taylor!" he turned to see the jock coming to his side.

"Where`s your family?" she asked him while looking around and noticing no other vehicles around and no lights coming from the house.

"Oh they won't be here until tomorrow." Taylor shrugged.

"What? So you're just gonna be all alone here all night?" she asked in surprise.

"Guess so? Why do you ask?" he raised an eyebrow. Lynn seemed to contemplate something for a moment.

"Wait here." she told and rushed towards her father. They started talking for several minutes, while keeping their voices down. Taylor looked on confused, as did her sisters.

"What are they talking about?" the boy asked.

"I dunno?" Luan replied, equally puzzled. Suddenly the Louds father grabbed his forehead in apparent frustration and defeat and Lynn rushed back to them.

"Okay it's settled, I`ll be staying over with you for the night." she told Taylor chipperly, who was instantly stunned by that revelation.

"Whaa.." his jaw dropped. The girl smirked at his dumbstruck reaction.

"You heard me, we can't leave you all alone on good conscience, not in your sorry condition, cuz if I learned anything about you these last two days then it`s that you`re always in more pain than you're willing to show."

Her sisters were likewise surprised by her decision, until Luan slowly started to snicker, much to the jocks charging.

"Oh I see what`s going on Lynn, you really didn't need to come up with some half-baked excuse sis...but I guess dad wouldn't have let you do it otherwise." she kept snickering.

"What do you mean Luan?" Lana scratched her head.

"Oh the images that you're making me think of Luan are too disturbing and icky even for me." Lucy spoke up with a weak smile, finally showing a sense of levity. 

"What do you mean ?" Lana was still confused. Lucy whispered to her and the tomboy automatically gagged. Lynn rolled her eyes in frustration and jumped out of the van.

"Real mature guys, well if you'll excuse me, I`m of trying to be a good friend, while you can snicker and laugh at me all you want." she retorted bitterly. Luan`s snickering dialed down.

"Oh we`re not laughing at you, it's very sweet that your so concerned about his wellbeing...why it's downright roma..." she got cut off when Lynn abruptly shut the door, only to turn and see Taylor looking at her with intrigue.

"Did I hear right? I`m your friend now? And you're worried about moi?", Lynn scowled with annoyance and rolled her eyes. Did all of them have to act like this.

Taylor shifted his gaze up to see glaring at him and basically saying that if he tries anything with his daughter he`ll kill him. Taylor allowed the faintest of smirks to creep on his face, essentially saying "No promises."

Lynn caught wind of it and sent her father a glare to stop embarrassing her, while her sisters waved goodbye while Luan made annoying kissy faces. Reluctantly, finally drove off.

"So I take it you`ve grown fond of me?" Taylor asked her smugly. With her family gone, Lynn allowed herself to relax and crossed her arms.

"Don`t flatter yourself, it means I`m willing to give you another chance. I`d hate to see anyone sad and friendless." she shot back haughtily. Taylor smirked back.

"Oh I see, well I won't force you to stay out in the bitter cold, you're my guests and as a proper gentelman I`ll do all I can to make you feel welcome in my humble home." he tried to lead her as suavely as possible, which wasn't easy when you're limping with a crutch. Lynn snickered inwardly at the sight, while Taylor tried to keep a calm exterior, because on the inside he was nervous beyond reason.

...

Taylor gave her a tour of the house, stubbornly ignoring the fact that his movement was greatly hindered and he was quickly tiring himself out. Not wanting him to strain himself any further, Lynn demanded that they would return to the living room and seated themselves on the couch. Taylor was eager to make her feel as welcome as possible and told her that she could sleep in whatever room she wished, when Lynn asked him if his parents and siblings would get upset about it Taylor shrugged it of, claiming he was already screwed and this wouldn't make much of a difference. He wanted to make the most out of this night before his sentence had officially begun. Having Lynn willingly stay to watch over him for the night felt like a blessing, like the universe was truly rewarding him with for his noble actions.

He tried his hardest not to look like a flustered idiot in front of her, but Lynn was very much aware how eager he was to make her feel at home, even though he was the one who was supposed to be resting and looked after. When he offered to bring some cola bottles from the fridge, Lynn pushed him back into his seat and told him she would do it, and that was final. Lynn knew how Taylor felt about her, maybe not to what extent, but he had long since crossed the line of flirting with her and trying some inventive moves, that made her feel uncomfortable and she didn't know what to think about it now, especially now that he was acting a lot more respectful around her. She tried not to think too hard about it and just try to relax and hang out with him like was any other friend of hers.

Once she returned, Lynn was quickly met with something soft rubbing against her legs and purring. She looked down and saw a jet black cat.

"Look at that. Marceline likes you." Taylor observed, sitting next to Lynn on the couch.

"Marceline?" Lynn snickered "Intereting name?"

Lynn picked up the cat in her lap and she quickly relaxed and kept purring as Lynn petted her back. It was surprising that someone like Taylor would own a pet this openly affectionate and friendly.

"She`s cute..." Lynn admitted, remembering what it was like to have a normal pet, instead of a lethary winged blood sucking gremlin.

"So Lynn, you said you were gonna give me a second chance, to be friends." Taylor started, trying to sound calm and not be too pushy with the topic. Lynn looked him in the eye and grew a serious face.

"I will, but you have to promise to behave yourself, to not bully innocent kids and be respectful to others. And don't think I've forgotten about the fights you gave him, or the punches." Taylor shrank back, feeling greatly ashamed.

"I know, and I'm so sorry, that was the biggest mistake I ever did in my life.." Lynn sighed.

"What's done is done, but can't dwell on the past forever, cuz believe it or not, I`m not so squeky clean when it comes to bullying." Lynn went on to explain her past of mistreating her siblings. Taylor`s reaction wasn't what she had expected. He had a burst of hardy laughter and dismissed her history of "bullying" as minor roughousing at best, and honestly thought that Lynn was being overdramatic.

"You know, I always suspected you had some chip on your shoulder, but this is ridiculous. Your little play fights with the pipsqueaks don't hold a candle to a professional tyrant like me." he said almost proudly. But once he saw her serious look he shrank back a bit.

"So much for being respectful." he told him contemptuously. Taylor edged closer and slowly put his arm around her.

"Hey, I was joking alright, I meant to say that you didn't do much wrong and you shouldn't beat yourself over it. I mean shouldn't you like be proud that you were never as bad as me, or Lyle, or any of those assholes that picked on your siblings at school?" he tried to talk resonably.

"I guess you're right, but it still hurts knowing what a lousy sister I was."

"So what if you were, it's the past, you've changed and they hold no ill will towards you, so just let it go. How do you think I'll cope with my checked past? By mopping and feeling sorry for myself?"

Lynn smirked a bit "You won`t?" she asked sarcastically, Taylor let out a dry laugh.

"You`re a riot. No, I`m going to show you what a great guy and friend I can be. For one, once I`m free, I`ll be always there if you need me. You need someone who ain't afraid of facing you in a sport match, I`m your guy."

Lynn smirked "Really? Well just to warn you, I play rough, very rough and don't go easy on anyone. If you play against me exept a lot of pain." Taylor was unfazed by her warning, if anything, he seemed more exited.

"Oh but that only makes it more interesting, no pain no gain, no challenge no fun, the further you push your limits the more rewarding your triumph is." Lynn eyes widened.

"Yeah...yeah...that`s exactly what I always say!" she exclaimed, unknowingly edging closer to the boy, the thought of playing with Taylor started to sound exiting, like going against a worthy opponent who could endure her standards and put up a challenge. He may not have her skills as an athlete, but lord knows, it would take a lot to take someone with his strength and stamina out.

"See, told ya we had a lot in common." Taylor told her proudly, only to notice that he and Lynn were about to touch noses. Both scooted away and blushed in embarrassment.

"Eh so, what do you wanna do now. Watch a movie? I`ve got plenty of old cheesy, black and white ones..." Taylor talked fast to change the topic quickly.

"Sure, why not..." the flustered Lynn answered.

"So what would you wanna watch, something sport related?" Taylor made the obvious suggestion, all to please her.

"Nah, I don't need to watch something I experience every day. What else you got?"

Taylor pondered "Well we can always watch dumb B-movies, like the one with cavemen running around superimposed geckos and gators with cardboard horns and sails pretending to be dinosaurs, or the one with the U.F.O which is just a Happy Meal toy on strings."

Lynn snickered "Sure, sounds like great movies to make fun of..." Marceline suddenly meowed in her lap "...and I think your cat agrees."

"So how about I prepare some popcorn while you slip the disks Taylor?" the boy shrugged in agreement.

"Sure, just one thing Lynn."

"What?" Taylor smiled in a relaxed manner.

"Call me Ryan. No need for the formalities..."

And so Lynn ended up spending the night sleeping over with the boy she had despised just days priror, only now she was starting to enjoy his company. This harrowing weekend certainly changed things between them, between him and her family, it was the start of budding bond between the broken family of quirky kids and the angry loner, what the future held in store for them only time would tell...

 **The end.**

 **Not much I have to add. Like last it's immensely rewarding to see the story come to a close, I`m not someone who likes to leave his fan work unfinished, even when the story keeps taking longer and longer to finish and sometimes you just feel like giving up. I certainly want to do more LH fics in the future, what kind of story would I wanna do next? I have certain ideas, perhaps next time I`ll do something simpler, shorter, more humorous, to break away from the heavy stuff, who knows...**


	11. Epilogue

**Hold it there! The main story may be over, but this fic hasn't quite ended yet.**

Within a dark room, a boy was laying around on his comfy bed, taking a sip from a soda bottle until it was empty. It may have been risky to stay here for too long, as he had to keep a low profile, but he didn't think too hard about it. He felt safe here and asured within himself that nobody would look for him here.

In hindsight, that incident he had been provoked into turned out to have its upsides, as hidding meant he could do whatever he wanted to all day long, lazing around and enjoying his heidonistic lifestyle and not worry about dumb school work.

Only recently had he heard some news that made him squeal with delight, as the people he despised the most had been caught in a pretty horrible accident. Pitty that no one, not even the snow haired doofus or the creepy goth kid died, but nonetheless, hearing that Taylor was mauled and subsequently grounded for a month made him laugh and roll around in his bed like a giddy little child. Karma was such a nasty bitch. If only he could have gone out and mocked Taylor right in his face.

" _Oh mister I`m so smart and cool and tougher than you had a little accident and got busted. Ha, who's laughing now you know-it-all piece of shit_." he kept snickering to himself.

It had been almost 4 weeks since he had heard of those news now, he had little means of finding out directly what was going on outside, not that he really cared as long as he was sitting pretty. But nonetheless, he had his own private eyes and ears doing the spying and information gathering for him, just in case he needed to act fast should the flatfeet get wiser.

He wasn't as dumb as Taylor labeled him as, he would show him that!

Suddenly his phone rang, the brown haired boy groaned at the annoying noise and grabbed it. He didn't need to look at the number, only three people could possibly be calling him now.

"What!...Oh it's you? Anything interesting I should know about? Are those uniformed buffoons still searching for me? Haven't seen much of that lately? Awesome."

No ones going to find me here, I`m so clever I`ve outwitted them all. Me Lyle Owen, the toughest _and_ most cunning guy on the block!"

Lyle piped down and smiled deviously as heard some news about Taylor and started giggling.

"Still grounded, eh? This is priceless. Oh what I would do to see his miserable face right now. Say could you by any chance go and film him mopping in his bedroom and send me the vid. I could watch that stuff for hours."

Lyle`s smile faltered and he growled in annoyance "No? What do you mean you "chooe life"? Coward! Yellow belly! You big pussy!" Aghhh never mind...call me when you have some jucy stuff to tell me. Lyle out!"

After ending his call, Lyle got up and moved trough the dimly lit room. He started sipping down another soda bottle until he emptied it. He crushed the plastic bottle and threw it under his table where plenty of other bottles, crumbled up paper and other junk lay.

He was once again growing bored, he slept till noon as usual and struggled to think of doing an activity he hadn't done a million times before. He was about to go back down where the tv was until he heard the sound of the school bus arriving. It was the same old daily routine, but curiosity got the better of him and he peaked trough the window blinds.

He mostly just saw another stupid bunch of elementary schoolers rushing out and he was about to turn away, when something caught his attention.

A young boy exited the bus, his hair was white and his shirt orange. Following him was a little girl with blonde pigtails and a red cap and teal shirt. He recognized them! With them was that pale faced girl gowned in black, matching her hair, though unlike her photo her eyes were were all carrying backpacks. Her face seemed gloom and sad and the other two seemed to be comforting her. Lincoln sent a glare to a bunch of boys his age laughing at them, their apparent leader, some pointy nosed redhead was pointing at the freaks. The little blonde rushed towards them angrily, but Lincoln grabbed her and the creepy girls hand and led them in the opposite direction.

Lyle`s eyes followed them until they were out of sight. He smiled with glee and intrigue " _Well this is interesting_..."

 **Surprise epilogue and cliffhanger, it was about time we got a hint about what that toddler assaulting, karma dodging goofball Lyle was up to. Apparently laying low has it's benefits, especially for a school hating preteen delinquent. It would appear he might still have a bone to pick with the Louds...**

 **And you know how bullies are, they are always craving for vengeance against their victims for the injustice of being there when the bully was caught and telling on them. Bullies aren't usually known for their reasonability.**

 **Oh, and once again, and here's a fan cast :**

 **Scott Menville as Ryan Taylor**

 **Jessica DiCicco as Lynn Loud, Lucy Loud**

 **Collin Dean as Lincoln Loud**

 **Grey DeLisle as Lana Loud**

 **Cristina Pucelli as Luan Loud**

 **Lara Jill Miller as Lisa Loud**

 **Brian Stepanek as Lynn Loud Sr**

 **Frank Welker as One-Eye, Moose, Bobcat, Coyotes**

 **Till next time...**


End file.
